Agency history, 1997-

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Subject

  • Cobert, John W
  • Fraga, Robert
  • Leffler, Dorothy A
  • Dempsey, Thomas
  • Smithsonian Institution Office of Contracting and Property Management
  • Smithsonian Institution Office of Contracting

Category

Agency History

Notes

  • This is an agency history. It does not describe actual records. The Smithsonian Institution Archives uses these histories as brief accounts of the origin, development, and functions of an office or administrative unit to set that unit in its historical context. To find information on record holdings, please double-click the highlighted field "Creator/Author", which will open on a brief view of relevant records.
  • Smithsonian Annals, 1997
  • Memorandum, John W. Cobert, Director, Office of Contracting, August 15, 2006
  • Smithsonian Instiution, About, People, http://www.si.edu/about/people.htm, 2007-2017
  • The Office of Contracting was created in 1997 from its predecessor, the Office of Contracting and Property Management. It provides central contracting, procurement, and advisory services for all Smithsonian museums, research institutes and offices. The office through its staff and, indirectly, through the issuance and oversight of delegations of contracting authority to various offices, is responsible for contract negotiation, formation, and continuing contract administration involving the expenditure of most of the Smithsonian's federally appropriated funds, as well as Smithsonian trust funds.
  • The office is responsible for the complex contracting activities involving the Smithsonian's science units, museums, and national programs. It is also responsible for simplified acquisitions, purchase and travel cards, Smithsonian-wide acquisitions and procurement policy, and personal property management. In 2012, the name of the office changed to the Office of Contracting and Personal Property Management.
  • John W. Cobert, formerly director of the Office of Contracting and Property Management, continued as head of the Office of Contracting on its creation and served in that capacity, 1997-2006. Dorothy A. Leffler was Acting Director, 2007-2008. Robert Fraga was appointed Director in 2009 and served until 2011, when Dorothy A. Leffler was became director. Leffler served until 2017, after which Thomas Dempsey served as director, 2017- .
  • For a history of the larger creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above.

Repository Loc.

Smithsonian Institution Archives Capital Gallery, Suite 3000, MRC 507; 600 Maryland Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20024-2520

Date

1997

Topic

  • Museum finance
  • Government purchasing
  • Personal property
  • Real property
  • Contracts

Form/Genre

Mixed archival materials

Local number

SIA AH00411

Full Record

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