Financial Strength 



25 



"I owe society a lot for the happiness and success I have 

 enjoyed," Behring says, "and I really want to do some good 

 in return. I worked hard building my business and making a 

 good life for my family. But I'm working harder now ar giv- 

 ing the money away. . . . It's something I believe I must do. 



"Sometimes it is easy to forget how we started, who made 

 the country," he adds. He believes in the American History 

 Museum's potential to "inspire people to chase the Ametican 

 dream." 



Steven F. Udvar-Hazy 



Appreciating the wonders of flight 



The wonders of flight have inspired Steven F. Udvar-Hazy 

 since childhood. The aviation executive, who is president 

 and CEO of International Lease Finance Corp., has given 

 $65 million to the National Air and Space Museum's new 

 storage, restoration, and exhibition center at Washington 

 Dulles International Airport in Virginia, which has been 

 named the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in his honor. 

 "The time has arrived for my family to give back to 

 America part of the teward that aviation has been instru- 

 mental in creating," Udvar-Hazy says. He hopes the new 

 facility will introduce children to the marvels of aviation — 

 and its greatest potential. "An airplane rising into the sky is 

 the only hope, the only way to reach into a bigger world." 



Dorothy Lemelson 



Continuing a tradition of giving 



There is little in our contemporary world that has not been 

 touched by the creative genius of Jerome Lemelson, one of 

 America's most prolific inventors. Bar code readers, cordless 

 phones, cassette players, and camcorders are but a few of the 

 hundreds of items derived from the creativity of this remark- 

 able man. 



The legacy of Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson will touch 

 the lives of millions of Americans through their generosiry 

 to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Hisrory, 



Behring Center. Since 1995, the Lemelson Foundation has 

 contributed $40 million to the creation and support of the 

 Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of In- 

 vention and Innovation. The center provides programs and 

 resources aimed at engaging young people in the study and 

 explorarion of technological invention and innovation. 



Through her support of the Smithsonian, Dorothy Lemel- 

 son continues to impart the important lessons of cteative 

 thought and innovation her late husband so valued. The 

 Lemelson Foundation's most recent contribution of S14.5 

 million to the museum earmarked subsrantial funds for both 

 endowment and operational support of the center, as well as 

 a furure exhibition on the Nobel Prize. 



Smithsonian National Board 



Inspiring leadership 



The Smithsonian National Board enjoyed tremendous 

 success in 2000, ushering in the new century with an un- 

 precedented fund-raising total of $42 million toward 

 Smithsonian ptiorities and initiatives. The board's continued 

 leadership and strong financial commitment led the way for 

 fund-raising efforts on behalf of the Institution's museums 

 and research centers. The board's generosity is an invaluable 

 catalyst for future contributions toward special projects, edu- 

 cational programs, facility expansion, and exhibition 

 development. 



The installation of the new giant panda habitat at the Na- 

 tional Zoo received the strong financial suppott of National 

 Boatd members. The blockbuster exhibirion "The American 

 Presidency: A Glorious Burden" at the National Museum of 

 American History, Behring Center also received subsrantial 

 donations from members of the board, who committed to 

 raise the funds for the national traveling portion of the exhi- 

 bition. 



As the Institution's premier fund-raising group, the Na- 

 tional Board advises the Secrerary on a range of issues and 

 maintains a network of supporters from around the country. 

 The all-volunteer group met three times to discuss issues 

 central to the board's development efforts and to the whole 

 of the Institution in national fund raising. 



