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[[underlined]] Proposal for a Regents' Fellowship Program [[/underlined]]

Mr. Ripley reported that at the September 1977 meeting of the Board of Regents Dr. Murray Gell-Mann suggested the possibility of a Regents' Fellowship Program to attract distinguished scholars to explore areas of Smithsonian scholarship which have not been subjects of intensive study. The Regents' Fellows, as visiting colleagues working with staff members, would enrich the intellectual atmosphere of the Institution and enhance its prestige in the finest sense of its traditional objectives, the "increase and diffusion of knowledge."

The Board of Fellowships and Grants of the Smithsonian, composed of five bureau directors and the assistant secretaries for History and Art and Science, who judge the applicants for pre- and post-doctoral fellowships, has expressed enthusiasm for the suggestion, and has proposed that the Smithsonian add to its offerings for visiting scholars a highly selective program of Regents' fellowships for distinguished scholars and research scientists.

Leaders in their fields would be invited to participate in the research, curatorial, and educational programs of the Smithsonian in ways that would complement or enhance the commitment of the present staff to the goals of the Institution. For example, visiting scholars in fields such as art, history, anthropology, archeology or natural history could explore major museum collections not under active study. In a similar manner, scientists in such fields as astrophysics, field biology, animal behavior, or radiation biology could attack new and important research problems of direct Smithsonian concern.