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January 22 , 195& 
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Dr, Charles E. Smithy 
School of Public Health 
University of California 
Berkeley k, California 
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Acknowledgment is made of your latter of December 29, 1953* 
relate® to the Joint Professorship between the 8 &i vers tty's Ihspartaeat 
of Anthropology and the School of Public Health* s® very gl&4 to ^ 
learn that Dr. George Poster is being considered for this eh&ir ann 4 , 
m t tt * *h »»* pleased to have an opportunity to c&mmt on hi# abilities 
! it first affiliation with the Smithsonian 
ms in his capacity a# .Acting Director of the Inter-Awriean Institute 
of Social Anthropology In Mexico (September a?**), *n 
IShh he became Director of this Institute and in 19M5 he VM brought 
Washington to serve as Director of the .Institute of fecial Anthropology 
!e continued in this latter position until he left the Smithsonian 
December of 1952* 
# 
There 1 © encloses a copy of his Diograpny xrua our files, ^ 
you my haw all of this informtio n at your disposal 1 would like 
call your particular attention to page 2 which clearly shows Ms 
extremely rapid prtsaetioa fro® P-4 to F»7 (now GS-lb) . fhi®, I may add, 
is a really outstanding; case end will explain far better than can »© 
^>ru» hy wards- shat the Stelthsoni&n thought of his accomplishments in 
the difficult field of social anthropology. 
When Dr. Foster assumed 
Washington, I withdrew as the liaison officer 
The planning and justification of Ms 
sole responsibility . In this he was completely 
.4* 
State Department 
program thus became his 
successful. 
A discussion according to the 
follows* 
four criteria you have outlined 
Professional Competence: Dr. Foster is not only well trained s 
has h*ar ^s5S c r «pSlswrTn foreign fields under somewhat dim* 
conditions, but he has demonstrated in planning the research of the 
field laboratories that he has not only administrative ability of a 
