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[[underlined]] Museum of Man [[/underlined]]

The Secretary said he is convinced that anthropology, despite all its disclaimers, is basically a united topic. And it can be so encompassed within an organization, disparate as many of the segments of it seem to be to the practitioners. He proposes to form within the Museum of Man an organization which would be a pathfinder and leader around the world in the study of man, using a variety of anthropological and humanistic approaches in field, archival, and exhibition work.

The Secretary proceeded to outline the following report which had been distributed in advance of the meeting:

* * * * * 

In February 1980 Secretary Ripley appointed a committee of Smithsonian scholars to assess the prospects of bringing the disparate Smithsonian activities in the man-related disciplines together under one administration. In its report last July the committee, chaired by Gordon Gibson of the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology, provided a useful and comprehensive overview of work in man-related disciplines and offered recommendations to associate these efforts in a Museum of Man. 

Under Secretary Hughes and Assistant Secretary Challinor discussed the recommendations with the professional staff in the fall of 1980 with a view toward an administratively integrated organization, the National Museum of Man. While this title has existed informally for many years as an adjunct of the National Museum of Natural History, no professional units were formally placed in this framework.