With funding from the Smithsonian Institution's Latino 

 Initiative Pool, the center created a new fellowship program, 

 the Latino Graduate School Fellowship, under the direction of 

 Magdalena Mien. The goal of the program is to support the 

 scholarly development and research interests of Latino gradu- 

 ate students, to expose them to the resources available at the 

 Smithsonian and to introduce them to museum operations. 

 The program emerged as a result of issues raised during the 

 Latino Graduate Training Seminar and a desire to extend the 

 length of time Latino scholars could conduct research at the 

 Smithsonian. Five outstanding Latino/a Ph.D. candidates, 

 chosen from among participants in both the 1994 and 1995 

 seminars, were elected to begin research at the Smithsonian in 

 Fiscal Year 1996. 



Responsibility for central intern services at the Institution 

 is a majot function at the center. During 1995 both Sarah Lan- 

 don. Intern Services Coordinator, and Rebecca Culpepper, In- 

 tern Services Assistant, left the center and were replaced 

 respectively by Elena Piquer Mayberry and Allison Wickens. 

 Intern Services at the center provides a weekly orientation to 

 new Smithsonian interns as well as special programs, tours 

 and discussions. The center also offers an annual Museum Ca- 

 reers Seminar, held this year July 5-26. This four-part program 

 explored museum practice and functions, the types of posi- 

 tions available within the museum field, career guidance and 

 advice. Through programming and counseling, Intern Ser- 

 vices insures that all interns have access to, and use, the 

 unique resources of the Smithsonian to explore the many fac- 

 ets of museum work. 



In 1995 the center moved closer to providing comprehens- 

 ive electronic outreach information to the museum commu- 

 nity and beyond. Staff and volunteers began cataloging 

 citations to the American Association of Museums annual 

 meeting audio-tapes which will be added to the Museum 

 Studies Database, accessible through the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion Research Information System (SIRIS). The center also es- 

 tablished a "home page" on the Smithsonian's web site. The 

 page includes program information and listings of resources 

 available from the center. Several web users have already 

 downloaded and sent to the office the Application for 

 Smithsonian Internships which is posted in the Intern Ser- 

 vices area. The center has also drafted out subject area and 

 services to be placed on Smithsonian On-Line, the on-line 

 information area of America On-Line in early Fiscal Year 

 1996. Increasing access to our materials as well as provid- 

 ing information to the general public about museums, mu- 

 seum careers and museum issues will guide the design of 

 the center's web page. Discussions among staff continue 

 about use of the internet to deliver training as well as the 

 feasibility of tele-conferencing segments of our worskhops 

 and seminars. 



The center begins 1996, and the 150th anniversary of the 

 Smithsonian, with excitement and a deep commitment to con- 

 tinue servicing and promoting excellence and equity in the 

 museum community as well as in its daily operations. 



Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum 



Dianne H. Pilgrim, Director 



Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum seeks to enrich the 

 lives of all people by exploring the creation and consequences 

 of the designed environment. The National Design Museum 

 is one of the largest repositories of design in the world, and 

 the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to 

 historical and contemporary design. Four curatorial depart- 

 ments, Drawings and Prints, Decorative Arts, Textiles, and 

 Wallcoverings, care for, interpret, and add to the Museum's 

 collection of neatly a quarter of a million ob|ects. The Mu- 

 seum also houses a Department of Contemporary Design, an 

 outstanding reference library, extensive archival material on 

 American industrial design, an African-American Design 

 Archive and a newly established Latino Design Archive. 



During 1995, construction began on the Museum's major 

 capital renovation and accessibility project. The project will 

 accomplish several goals: create storage/study centers for the 

 Museum's collections, improve conservation of the collections, 

 and make the entire Museum facility — Mansion, Miller and 

 Fox Houses, and the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden — com- 

 pletely accessible. Approved by the New York City Land- 

 marks Commission and the New York State Historic 

 Preservation Trust, the design by the architectural firm of 

 Polshek and Partners is already being hailed as a model for 

 providing accessibility in a historic landmark building. 



In December of 1994, partial funding of $13 million for the 

 S20 million pro]ect was approved by the Smithsonian. The 

 Museum has worked during the past year to secure the addi- 

 tional $7 million needed to complete the project as originally 

 planned. In less than one year, the Museum has secured 

 pledges and gifts of cash and securities totaling S3. 7 million. 

 This figure includes a $2 million donation from Agnes 

 Bourne, a San Francisco-based furniture and interior designer 

 and her husband. Dr. James Luebbers. They sold their land- 

 mark mansion, Stonehouse, and donated $2 million from the 

 proceeds to the National Design Museum. The Museum has 

 used the $3.7 million to restore elements of the project to the 

 construction schedule that had been previously eliminated 

 because of cost. 



In order to ensute the safety of both the public and the col- 

 lections, the Museum suspended exhibitions fot the duration 

 of the renovation project. The galleries closed in August 1995 

 and will reopen in the fall of 1996 with the major exhibition, 

 Mixing Messages: Graphic Design in Contemporary Culture, spon- 

 sored by the Mead Corporation. While the galleries are closed, 

 the Museum will continue to offer a wide range of innovative 

 educational programs and the Museum's library of 56,000 vol- 

 umes and extensive archives are available by appointment. 

 Also, the Museum is collaborating with several outside organi- 

 zations on off-site exhibitions. Six Bridges: The Making of the 

 Neu- York Megalopolis, a collaborative effort of the National De- 



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