Heyman To Leave Smithsonian

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Summary

  • News article announces Smithsonian Institution Secretary I. Michael Heyman's plan to tell the Board of Regents the weekend of January 23-24, 1999, that he would resign as Secretary, leaving by the end of the year. The writer recounts the present status of the Smithsonian, and summarizes Heyman's earlier careers and then as Secretary, beginning with his arrival in 1994 during the Enola Gay exhibit controversy. Heyman moved to establish a more effective management structure and worked to change the culture within the Smithsonian.
  • The writer states that during his years as Secretary, Heyman showed skill at walking straight down the middle on tricky questions. He sought out ways to bring higher visibility of the Smithsonian outside the Washington, D.C. area by initiating a program to share some of the Smithsonian's artifacts with other museums across the country and by promoting a Web site. Heyman is credited with repairing relationships with Congress, securing public funds for needed building renovations, and establishing a structure to create more effective fund raising programs. Ninety-three million dollars was raised from private sources in 1998, and Heyman said in a statement that one of his last obligations before leaving as Secretary is to fine-tune a capital campaign that is expected to raise approximately $600 million.

Subject

  • Heyman, Ira Michael 5/30/1930-11/19/2011
  • Enola Gay (Bomber)

Category

Smithsonian Institution History Bibliography

Contained within

The Washington Post (Newspaper)

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

January 23, 1999

Topic

  • Museum finance
  • Smithsonian influence
  • Controversies
  • Secretaries
  • Gifts
  • Museums
  • Federal Government, Relations with SI
  • Biography
  • Museum exhibits

Physical description

National News section, page A1

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