Smithsonian Institution 

 

The Board of Regents 

 

A STATEMENT FROM THE BOARD OF REGENTS ON 

THE REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF 

THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE 

Nearly three months ago, in response to intense congressional and public interest about 

executive compensation and the handling of certain expenses by the former Secretary, the 

Regents initiated a comprehensive review of governance at the Smithsonian. Since that 

time, we have scrutinized our oversight of the Smithsonian — both from the inside and 

out. 

Internally, we created a standing Regents’ Governance Committee with a mandate to 

swiftly and comprehensively review Smithsonian policies and practices as well as how the 

Board could better oversee this vast and complex Institution. We asked the Governance 

Committee to look forward and report back to the Board with recommendations to 

strengthen the Regents’ leadership and governance of the Institution. The Governance 

Committee, chaired by Regent Patty Stonesifer, has admirably done so. 

At the same time the Governance Committee was at work, we sought an outside 

perspective. The Regents commissioned the Independent Review Committee (IRC), 

chaired by the Honorable Charles A. Bowsher, former Comptroller General of the United 

States, to review those matters identified by the Smithsonian’s Inspector General and 

Senator Charles Grassley. On June 11, the IRC met with the full Board of Regents to 

discuss their preliminary findings and recommendations. The Regents welcomed this 

opportunity to engage the IRC directly in a frank review and discussion of their work. We 

expect that the IRC’s final report will be released later this week. 

The Regents are pleased to adopt the 25 recommendations of the Governance 

Committee’s report. These recommendations address the serious problems regarding 

executive compensation and expenses that the IRC was directed to study, and take 

account of the IRC’s helpful findings and suggestions. In addition, the Governance 

Committee looked well beyond those problems. Its recommendations constitute a 

comprehensive “Blueprint for Better Governance” that both addresses weaknesses in a 

variety of existing Smithsonian policies and practices and serves as a foundation for the 

Board to become a leader in 21st century nonprofit governance. 

The recommendations are wide-ranging and will result in concrete change. Together with 

the immediate policy improvements we approved in April, we have strengthened board 

and committee structures; enhanced monitoring and accountability; reinforced the 

Smithsonian’s strong ethical foundation; increased effective transparency; ensured that 

the critical “gatekeepers” — the General Counsel, the Chief Financial Officer, and the 

Inspector General — have direct access to the Board; and promoted robust and informed 

deliberations. We expect that our adoption of these recommendations will immediately 

 
2

improve the management, governance, and transparency of the Institution. Today’s 

launch of a web page providing key information about the Regents and their work, 

including the Governance Committee’s report, demonstrates our commitment to an 

ethos of increased transparency. (See www.si.edu/about/regents.htm) 

We recognize, however, that much work remains. Over the next seven months, the Board 

will study issues ranging from the appropriate size and composition of the Board to 

creating an improved framework to strengthen our relationships with the dedicated 

Advisory Boards of individual Smithsonian museums and research centers. We will build 

the strong constructive partnership with Acting Secretary Cristián Samper and his staff 

that is necessary to advance the Smithsonian’s mission and maintain the public trust. We 

also welcome the rigorous search process now under way that will result in the selection 

of the 12th Secretary of the Institution. 

The Regents appreciate the hard work of Patty Stonesifer and her fellow Governance 

Committee members, Robert Kogod, Walter Massey, Congresswoman Doris Matsui, and 

Diana Aviv, the President and CEO of Independent Sector, in producing this report. 

We are particularly grateful to the nearly 6,200 Smithsonian staff members and the 

Institution’s more than 5,000 volunteers. Above all, it is their dedication and passion for 

the Smithsonian’s mission that enables the Institution to enrich the lives of millions of 

Americans every day. 

 June 18, 2007