Smithsonian official resigns amid criticism

WASHINGTON – The Smithsonian Institution announced Monday that its top official, Secretary Lawrence M. Small, has resigned amid criticism about his spending.\nSmall, the first businessman to run the 160-year-old museum and research complex, resigned over the weekend after more than seven years as secretary. The decision was unanimously accepted Sunday by the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents.\n“His long service and outstanding service were weighed against the current contrary feelings among some people in the community,” said Roger Sant, chairman of the Smithsonian board’s executive committee. “It was a very hard, conflicted decision.”\nCristian Samper, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, was appointed acting secretary while the regents conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.\nAn internal audit in January found that Small had made $90,000 in unauthorized expenses, including private jet travel and expensive gifts.\nThe audit also found that Small charged the Smithsonian more than $1.1 million for agreeing to use his 6,500-square-foot home in the affluent Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington for official functions. The housing expenses included $273,000 for housekeeping, $2,535 to clean a chandelier and $12,000 for service on his backyard swimming pool.\nOn Thursday, the Senate approved freezing a proposed $17 million increase in funding for the Smithsonian, citing Small’s excessive compensation and spending.\nSmall was to earn $915,698 this year in total compensation – more than double what he earned during his first year as secretary in 2000. Small will not be given a severance package and did not ask for any final compensation, said Patty Stonesifer, co-chair of the board.\n“Having spent countless days and evenings promoting the interests of the Institution and having contributed over half a million dollars of my own money as well, it has truly been a labor of love,” Small wrote in his resignation letter.\nSant said he helped Small weigh his options in recent days.\n“I think (Small) was really concerned about the possibility of the institution being changed fundamentally” after members of Congress questioned the Smithsonian’s funding and governance, Sant said. He added that it was difficult to ignore the Senate’s vote to withhold an increase in Smithsonian funding.\n“He really feels the fundamental nature of the institution has been attacked, and he’s very upset about that,” Sant said.\nSmall, 65, was the 11th secretary at the Smithsonian, which includes 18 museums, the National Zoo and a 19th museum under development. He was criticized early in his tenure for imposing changes without the support of museum staff. Scientists complained that he eliminated funding for research and neglected improvements to museum facilities.\nIn 2004, Small was convicted on a federal charge of importing South American headdresses that included feathers from endangered birds for his personal collection. A judge sentenced Small to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.\nLast year, Small angered historians and filmmakers when he signed a 30-year semi-exclusive contract to create a new TV unit with Showtime Networks Inc., because it could limit access to Smithsonian resources.\nIn Samper, 41, the Smithsonian board chose a Harvard University-trained biologist more closely tied to Smithsonian tradition. The first nine secretaries were all scientists. He joined the Smithsonian in 2001 as deputy director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Samper, who is from Costa Rica and grew up in Colombia, became the director of the natural history museum in 2003.\n“I look forward to working with all of my colleagues at the other museums and our supporters and the board of regents to continue strengthening and building the public trust in the Smithsonian,” Samper said. “I think the institution stands for many important values in American society.”\nSen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who has been calling for change at the Smithsonian, said Small’s resignation was a positive first step.\nSant praised Small’s tenure, saying he raised $1 billion for the institution, which he said was a record.\nChief Justice John Roberts, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian, also offered praise for Small.