At the request of several people at the Smithsonian, I am posting the following
article from Saturday's Washington Post concerning changes at the Smithsonian.

--John Chadwick
[log in to unmask]

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Top-Down Change at Museum
Smithsonian Names Sheila Burke to Post

By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 12, 2000; Page C01

Barely three weeks into his tenure, Smithsonian Secretary
Lawrence M. Small has reorganized the top administrative
structure of the museum complex around what he calls "natural
connections and common priorities."

He is essentially splitting the Smithsonian into five parts.  And
he picked Sheila P. Burke, 49, a veteran Washington political
adviser, to head one of the most important ones, a division that
will include the American history, social and cultural programs
in Washington and around the country, as well as congressional
relations.

The other four divisions are science, international art
collections, business ventures, and finance and administration.

Small, who became the Smithsonian's 11th secretary late last
month, unveiled his new plan yesterday and introduced Burke, a
legendary figure on Capitol Hill and longtime alter ego for
former senator Robert Dole.  In her 19 years on his staff, Burke
earned a reputation as a smart, forceful implementer of Dole's
agenda, and she was intensely loyal to the Kansas senator.  In
1995 conservative Republicans launched a fierce attack against
her, arguing she was too influential and was pulling Dole, then
Senate majority leader, in the wrong ideological direction,
especially on such issues as welfare reform.

For the past four years Burke has been executive dean of the
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

"When it comes to being able to convene people, and to have them
come together to do things across America, when it comes to being
able to work with people, elected representatives and people
locally throughout the country, so we can bring the Smithsonian
to hundreds of institutions, and become the nation's museum
partner, I can't think of anybody who can do it as well as
Sheila," said Small.

Burke, a registered nurse married and the mother of three, has
been commuting between Washington and Cambridge.  The chance to
shorten her commute by several hundred miles appealed to her, as
did new possibilities for the Smithsonian.

"The Smithsonian is at the heart of our institutional commitment
throughout the country, and the opportunity to move it in a
direction that makes it more accessible to people around the
country" attracted her, she said.

Burke joins the Smithsonian full time in June.  She will oversee
the Air and Space, American Art, American History, American
Indian, Anacostia museums, the Renwick Gallery, the Cooper-Hewitt
National Design Museum in New York, the Postal Museum and the
National Portrait Gallery.

"It brings together my desire to stay in public service but also
to move in a direction where I can leave a lasting impact in
making the Smithsonian far more real to people around the
country."

Small said he was able to move quickly in his first shake-up
because he had had a long transition period after his appointment
was announced last fall, time to have scores of conversations
with a wide variety of people about the Smithsonian in the 21st
century.

"Our obligation is to fulfill the expanding expectations of our
audiences.  To do so, we must marshal our resources more
skillfully than ever and have in place an organization that is at
once coherent, creative, flexible and responsive," Small said.
He emphasized that he was not planning any reductions in staff.

The impact on the 30 million visitors to Smithsonian facilities
in Washington will be indirect, but they will be the
beneficiaries of more affiliations with local museums, increased
electronic presence and other avenues of outreach.

"I don't think the public has to worry about our internal
organizational structure but they have to worry about the value
we bring to it," said Small.

The administrative hierarchy of the Smithsonian will start with
Small, the former president of Fannie Mae, and flow through five
general groups.  It will include a new undersecretary for
science, a retooled undersecretary for finance and
administration, a director for the art museums and the already-
constituted Smithsonian Business Ventures.

Dennis O'Connor, a biologist who is currently the provost of the
Smithsonian, will direct the science unit, including the Museum
of Natural History, the National Zoo and the museum's far-flung
research centers.  Small said the public, and even the scientific
community, is largely unaware of the scientific research that
emanates from the Smithsonian banner.  Of the Smithsonian's $570
million budget, $250 million goes to the sciences.

Constance Newman, the current undersecretary for finance and
administration, has announced she plans to leave at some point
this year.  Small said he hopes to name a successor this spring
and that office will include all the financial offices, as well
as human resources and international relations.

Small is looking for a director to run the international art
programs, including the Hirshhorn Museum, National Museum of
African Art and the Freer and Sackler galleries of Asian art.
The last component will be Business Ventures, a division
organized last year under Gary Beer.  From his listening sessions
around the country Small learned that people were ready for more
Smithsonian, not less.

"The Smithsonian will be reaching out so that we have a presence
in every state.  We would like to be such a constant presence in
so many towns and cities that the Smithsonian could be elected
mayor," he said.

© Copyright 2000 The Washington Post

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