Report of the 

 Under Secretary 



Constance Berry Newman 



A great strength of the Smithsonian is its emphasis on 

 collaboration. Many collaborative relationships join its diverse 

 museums, research institutes, and offices in their efforts to 

 fulfill a common mission. Through these relationships, each 

 organization preserves its distinctive qualities, while our 

 shared purpose becomes the driving force. Sometimes these 

 linkages happen with great ease, and sometimes they are hard 

 won. Each of them, however, enriches the Institution's 

 contributions to exploring new frontiers of knowledge and 

 sharing what is learned with scholarly communities and the 

 public. 



Since the time of Joseph Henry, the Smithsonian's first 

 Secretary, the Institution has been a world-renowned center of 

 research, dedicated to pursuing new discoveries and expanded 

 knowledge, first in the sciences and later in the humanities. 

 The work of Smithsonian scientists and scholars is immensely 

 important to their colleagues throughout the wotld. This 

 annual report reviews some of their accomplishments in 

 wide-ranging fields of study — the revelation that Indian 

 forest owlets are not extinct, new knowledge about a painting 

 by Willem de Kooning, the recovery of a piece of the Star- 

 Spangled Banner, and new evidence that a black hole the size 

 of 3 million Suns anchors the heart of the Milky Way. The 

 reports on the following pages review the efforts of 

 Smithsonian organizations to share some of this intriguing 

 work with the public and to provide essential operational 

 support to their colleagues who are pursuing research in other 

 parts of the Institution. 



Another important initiative underscores the sense of unity 

 that is so essential to the Smithsonian's mission. Over the past 

 fiscal year, staff members from across the Smithsonian, under 

 the leadership of the director of communications, were 

 involved in an interesting and challenging undertaking: the 



creation of a cohesive visual identity for the Institution. As 

 the Smithsonian, like so many other institutions, faces the 

 challenging reality of competition for funding and for public 

 recognition, our success will depend in part on presenting a 

 unified public image. As Secretary Heyman explained, "The 

 Smithsonian needs to encourage greater understanding of the 

 totaliry of its activities and its mission. And this requires the 

 use of a uniform graphic presentation." 



On the surface, this was a design and communication 

 project — creating a new logo, eveloping guidelines for its use, 

 and then implementing the complete program in every unit. 

 But the project really had a larger symbolic meaning. Today's 

 Smithsonian — a remarkably varied group of organizations 

 with substantial reputations of their own — is quite different 

 from the Smithsonian of Joseph Henry's time. The visual 

 identity that emerged reminds us all that we have important 

 common pursuits, and that the linkages we form among 

 ourselves are vital to the Smithsonian's future. 



The Smithsonian Associates 



On the National Mall, across the nation, and around the 

 world, The Smithsonian Associates (TSA) offers stimulating 

 educational opportunities for Smithsonian members and the 

 larger public. This year, more than 250,000 people 

 participated in nearly 1,800 programs and learned directly 

 from experts about developments in most areas of scholarship, 

 from music history to astronomy, from genetics to the Civil 

 War. 



TSA's Resident Associate Program offerings presented a 

 rich variety of research and scholarship to audiences in the 

 greater Washington area. Among the highlights was an 

 evening with historian John Hope Franklin, who spoke with 



