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Mr. Cherkezian described the Smithsonian's radio programs, Radio Smithsonian and Smithsonian Galaxy. The Committee was supportive of these educational programs and hoped that still more could be done for their wider dissemination.

Mr. Perrot and Ms. Loar gave a brief overview of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) program, noting that SITES carries out many museum functions (lacking its own building and collections) and describing various types and complexities of exhibitions, their distribution, budgets and fee striations, and publications.

Messrs. Hughes and Perrot discussed the status of the Institution's collections management policies, noting the early impetus for revised polices. They reported that every Smithsonian museum is now operating under revised policies which have certain common principles. The Committee discussed whether there should be a common threshold for Regents' approval of particularly significant acquisitions; the role of the museums' board and commissions, the Regents' acquisition fund, and routine processes for Regents' information were all considered in this context. Messrs. Hughes and Perrot also discussed the status of the inventory reconciliation being initiated to relate base-line inventory to all prior records of collections. The Committee agreed the pressing need for reconciliation should not encourage sloppiness.

Dr. Reinhardt and Mr. Jameson informed the Committees about the status of the Old General Post Office building, outlining the Institution's long-standing interest, recent action in Senate and House committees, and prospects for resolution of the building's status in the near future. They reported on preliminary plans for the Institution's renovation and use of the building, emphasizing particularly the extensive additional public space which would be made available to the two museums and the space which would appropriately house the functions of the Archives. The Committees noted the Regents' enthusiasm for this project and remarked that this would seem to be an exciting and useful development for an attractive landmark.

[[underlined]] Report of the Personnel Committee [[/underlined]]

By letter dated October 18, 1983, the Personnel Committee reported to the Chancellor that they reviewed the financial interests statements of the executive staff and that no conflict of interest was evident. The Committee also received a report from the Ethics Counselor from which it was apparent that the financial reporting procedures for all staff who must report have functioned appropriately and no evidence of conflict of interest was found.

[[underlined]] Financial Report [[/underlined]]

[[underlined]] Fiscal Year 1983 [[/underlined]]: Net operating funds form all sources totaled $188,577,000 -- an approximate $9 million gain over budget--with substantial gains being realized by the auxiliary activities, particularly the Magazine, museum shops and mail order. Receipts from gifts and grants, including Federal grant and contract support, constituted $18,723,000 of net operating funds, somewhat short of projections presented at the September meeting. A detailed analysis of 1983 financial results was made available to the Regents in advance copies of the annual report of the Treasurer for fiscal year 1983.