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The funds are administered by the Assistant Secretary for Museum Programs, working in close consultation with the Assistant Secretaries for Science and History and Art, to assure that from year to year the most urgent projects are selected for funding through this appropriation.

[[underline]] Collections Acquisition, Research, and Education Program. [[/underline]] In FY 1978, the Regents established a special trust account to be used for strengthening the Smithsonian's collections through purchase of major works of art and objects of scientific and historical value, and to allow for the funding of special projects important to the scholarly and educational functions of the Institution. A total of $4,000,000 in unrestricted trust funds through FY 1979 has been approved by the Regents for allocation to bureaus: $2,000,000 for collections acquisitions, $1,000,000 for scholarly projects, and $1,000,000 for educational activities.

These funds, along with about $200,000 that had been earmarked in earlier years for these general purposes, have made possible a variety of important activities. For example, major additions to the collections have been made, such as the sculpture [[underline]] L'Action Enchainee [[/underline]] by Aristide Maillol, the landscape [[underline]] Dover Plain [[/underline]] by Asher B. Durand, and Donald Cordry's extensive collection of Mexican masks. The Institution also acquired H.J. Kirby Siber's outstanding collection of fossils, and valuable eighteenth century Italian string instruments assembled by Laurence Witten. These funds have also been used to support such activities as scientific workshops, conferences and studies, student intern programs, Native American training programs, presentations and performances for the handicapped and elderly, a pilot program for those with hearing problems who visit our museums, an international symposium on children in museums, and weekend films and lectures for the general public.

[[underline]] Future Year Prospectus [[/underline]]

Trust support for Special Programs is contingent in future years on economic conditions, institutional priorities, and the abilities of the various auxiliary and revenue-producing activities to sustain their popularity and financial performance. Some increased funding is expected for the [[underline]] Collections Acquisition, Research, and Education Program [[/underline]] to allow for gradual growth in activities.

No additional federal resources are expected to be necessary for the [[underline]] Office of Fellowships and Grants [[/underline]] to administer fellowships and grants, and the Special Foreign Currency Program, but increases are projected from trust funds for increasing fellowship stipends.

Until FY 1979, the Institution's fellowship offerings were supported principally with appropriated funds, but since then have been supported principally with nonappropriated unrestricted trust funds. This change is a consequence of the Regents' decision to apply trust funds to certain federal services. Approximately sixty full-year fellowships are