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[[underlined]] Regents Dinner [[/underlined]]

The Regents Dinner was held on Sunday Evening, May 4, in the Courtyard of the National Collection of Fine Arts and the National Portrait Gallery.  The Regents and other guests were treated to a glimpse of the newly arrived Gilbert Stuart portraits of George and Martha Washington in the National Portrait Gallery.

After dinner, the Chancellor presented to Mrs. Ripley a citation in fine calligraphy and a necklace with a specially designed pendant of polished smithsonite mounted on a Smithsonian sunburst medallion.  As the Regents had voted by mail, the citation read:

NARY LIVINGSTON RIPLEY
The First Lady of the Eighth Secretary's Era

The Regents of the Smithsonian Institution note with admiration the many contributions with which Mary Livingston Ripley has advanced the purposes of the Institution as well as the scientific activities of her husband, the Eighth Secretary.

Mindful that multiple responsibilities, combined with the ordinary difficulties of today's life, place a special burden on the spouse of an administrative leader, it is with deepest appreciation that we recognize her role of quiet, gracious support as well as active personal interests which enriched the Institution.  Among other things, she

* organized a ladies volunteer committee in 1964, which resulted in the permanent Women's Committee of the Smithsonian, to sponsor special events and projects;

* developed broader horticultural interests in the Smithsonian through her enthusiasm for botany generally and the Orchid Committee in particular;

* helped extensively with field work in the Indian Himalayas and Bhutan, collecting ornithological and entomological material, photographing, and helping to document further research;

* acted as the gracious official hostess for the Secretary in the United States and abroad, often at great personal sacrifice, to the benefit of the Smithsonian Institution as it has flourished and become increasingly important to the citizens of the world.

We salute a great lady, Mary Livingston Ripley.