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Identical letter to the Vice President, Senators Jackson, Goldwater and Morgan; Messrs. Conte, Mineta and Thompson; Mrs. Armstrong; Messrs. Austin, Burden, Gell-Mann, Haskins and Higginbotham. (cc: The Chancellor and Mr. Webb)

[[preprinted letterhead]]
[[image: Smithsonian buildings]]

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Washington, DC 20560
U.S.A.

[[/preprinted letterhead]]

1707 H Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20006

November 5, 1979

The Chancellor has designated the Executive Committee as a search committee to solicit names and to recommend nominations to fill vacancies on the Board of Regents. The untimely death of John Nicholas Brown and the resignation of Thomas J. Watson, Jr., when he became Ambassador to the Soviet Union, created two vacancies. The search committee would be pleased to receive your suggestions for filling these posts.

The Institution's Bylaws and Charter set out the basic guidelines for nomination and appointment of citizen Regents. Pertinent excerpts are enclosed. Please note the Charter's residency requirement in particular. Two of the citizen Regents must be residents of the District of Columbia, but no two of the remaining seven citizen Regents shall be residents of the same state. Consequently we are precluded at this time from considering candidates residing in Texas, Georgia, New York, California, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. For your convenience I enclose a list of current Regents, their residences, and the expiration dates of their present terms.

As Chairman of the search committee I would appreciate receiving your suggestions at your earliest convenience, so that the committee can make its recommendations to the Board as promptly as possible. As you know, the approval of a joint resolution of the Congress for such appointments has usually taken considerable time.

Sincerely yours,

/s/
James E. Webb
Chairman, Executive Committee
Board of Regents

Enclosures