Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution G. Wayne Clough

2013 luce lunder editathon

on january 1, 2008, smithsonian named search committee position of secretary. clough s primary competition position acting secretary cristián samper, had replaced secretary lawrence m. small after small s resignation in 2007. smithsonian s board of regents, duties include electing smithsonian s secretary, took @ least 2 votes in lawyers lounge @ u.s. supreme court arrive @ decision.

clough elected 12th secretary of smithsonian institution; notified via phone call regents chairman roger w. sant on afternoon of march 14, 2008. decision announced publicly @ press conference held @ smithsonian castle on march 15, 2008. clough assumed office on july 1, 2008 , officially installed in academic ceremony on january 26, 2009. starting salary secretary $490,000, pay cut final compensation package @ georgia tech ($551,186) , lower predecessor, lawrence small s annual salary of $900,000.

upon assumption of office, clough made plans digitize museum s collections, , offer more intensive k-12 educational programming. in november 2008, first time, smithsonian opened board meeting public. made efforts improve smithsonian s facilities , long-term planning, plans reorganize , cut on staff , budget. in february 2012, clough s travel expenses probed senator charles e. grassley, despite increased controls; clough s travel had been approved smithsonian s chief financial officer part of reforms enacted in wake of alleged abuses secretary small.

on november 30, 2010, secretary clough made decision remove david wojnarowicz video fire in belly national portrait gallery s hide/seek: difference , desire in american portraiture exhibition. video artwork perceived anti-christian , clough believed detracted entirety of exhibition, said powerful exhibit contributions of gay , lesbian artists , not religious iconography , desecration . decision criticized, clough responded protecting smithsonian s larger educational mission. after controversy, smithsonian s board of regents appointed outside panel examine decision remove work exhibition; panel recommended art not removed shows have opened.

on september 18, 2013, after 6 years secretary, clough announced retirement, effective october 2014. in announcing retirement, said, when became secretary in 2008, believed smithsonian had enormous untapped potential, in digital technology, reach millions of people , serve resource cannot visit washington. confident our initiatives underway in bioconservation, education, digitization , fundraising, right time announce plans next fall orderly transition can begin.