The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Institutional Advancement was created in 1989 as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Institutional Initiatives. The name was changed in 1996. The incumbent was to undertake new and long-range projects and follow their development, as well as expanding and deepening Smithsonian relations with institutions of higher education, locally and nationally. The Office was abolished in a 1996 reorganization. Alice Green Burnette served as Assistant Secretary, 1989-1996.