New Smithsonian Secretary Expected to be Named in March: Down to 10 Finalists

Roger Sant, recently elected to the new position of chairman of the Smithsonian Institution’s board, told a press briefing Monday that 10 candidates were being interviewed for the top spot there, held by acting secretary Cristián Samper, since the resignation of Lawrence Small. The board hopes to announce its choice in March.
The executive search firm employed by the Smithsonian is Isaacson, Miller of Boston.
Ellen Futter, do you want to leave the American Museum of Natural History? I think you have what John Isaacson of that search firm is looking for:
The Smithsonian requires a Secretary who has the intellectual vision to inspire the curatorial and scientific staff, fully embraces the public trust, has the leadership capacity to retool the existing economic and organizational models, and the reputation and magnetism to build confidence in and support for the Institution—on Capitol Hill and around the nation.
Meanwhile, a very solid choice, Martin Sullivan, director of the Heard Museum, Phoenix, from 1990-99, was named to succeed Marc Pachter as director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Notwithstanding the fact that Sullivan called NPG “this nation’s Facebook,” he has a serious track record, particularly in the areas of American Indian art and cultural-property issues. You can link to NPG’s announcement here.
And in other Smithsonian news, Brett Zongker the Associated Press reports:
An internal review of travel expenditures by Smithsonian Institution museum directors found no other problems after a former leader [W. Richard West Jr. of the National Museum of the American Indian] came under fire last year for his use of luxury airfare, hotels and limousines, officials said Wednesday.
“We’re getting questions, as you can imagine, from members of Congress,” acting Smithsonian Secretary Cristián Samper told The Associated Press. “I wanted to make sure our people are out there traveling and using our resources wisely, and I think the answer is yes, they are.”
What do Senators Charles Grassley and Dianne Feinstein think?