G. Wayne Clough
The new secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, whose appointment was surprisingly announced on a Saturday (to downplay it?), has excellent civil engineering experience. Here are his cultural credentials, as set forth in the Smithsonian’s press release:
While improving Georgia Tech’s reputation for science, [G. Wayne] Clough has
emphasized the importance of humanities education. He established two
endowed chairs in poetry….He was the subject of a chapter in Thomas L. Friedman’s book, “The
World is Flat, A Brief History of the 21st Century,” in which Friedman
credits Clough as a visionary leader who had to rethink an entire
university strategy, beginning with an admissions policy that focused
too much on engineering and not enough on such creative activities as
music, poetry and team sports.
And art is…where? Who cares if the man has neither art nor museum experience. If Friedman likes him, he’s gotta be good.
Clough is known as a fine fundraiser. His business connections include: serving on the board of directors of TSYS (Total System Services, Inc.), which “makes it possible for millions of people to make paperless payments safely and securely”; and serving on the board of advisors for Noro-Moseley Partners, one of the southeast’s largest venture capital funds.
All I can say is: They’d better appoint an undersecretary for art, replacing the one who just left, really fast.