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American History now has $2.3 million in gifts and pledges toward its goal of $4.2 million, with five additional major pledges thought close to commitment; it has been decided to expand the scope of fund raising to include Japanese corporations linked to the American experience. Other major projects include the Museum of Natural History's "Crossroads of Continents" exhibition about the Bering Straits cultures, the Hirshhorn Museum's retrospective exhibition about the sculptor Albert Giacometti, and a variety of important SITES exhibitions.

[[underlined]] Rockville Facility of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center [[/underlined]]

The Regents were briefed on the status of closing the Rockville facility of the Smithsonian Environmental Research center as of November 22, 1986.  Noting the potential for cuts to the Institution's budget request for fiscal year 1987, the Secretary emphasized the importance of preserving the financial resources of the facility for fiscal years 1987 and 1988 and beyond for reapplication to other high-priority biological research initiatives at the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoological Park, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.  The Institution will retain four existing programs of the laboratory in new Institutional settings. Over the months since the initial closure announcement was made, the majority of the 46 laboratory employees have been successful in obtaining new positions.

[underlined]] The Renwick Gallery and the Smithsonian Crafts Programs [[/underlined]]

Last spring Mr. Freudenheim convened a committee of outside professionals to visit and review facilities, collections, and programs at the Smithsonian which pertain to crafts.  The committee's report, recently received, recommends that the crafts program at the Renwick Gallery be strengthened through serious scholarship and publications. Those recommendations will form the basis for a more definitive program statement.

[[underlined]] Smithsonian visitor and Staff Parking [[/underlined]]

Reminding the Regents of the June 7 decision to close the public parking areas under the National Air and Space Museum and the Museum of American History for security reasons, Mr. Adams pointed out that for similar reasons he is recommending to eliminate public parking in the lot of the National Museum of Natural History.  Only about 150 spaces have been made available as an accommodation to the public on the perimeter of the Natural History lot, and a recently-completed follow-up security study now recommends that the Natural History lot be entirely closed to the public.  Closing the Natural History lot is equally advisable from the point of view of practicality because the number of spaces for visitors is so small that its benefit to the visitors has been largely illusory and its operation has become a financial burden for the Institution.

The Regents expressed their great concern for public safety in these troubled times, but recorded their interest in re-opening the Smithsonian lots to public use in the event that such forms of terrorism no longer represent a direct threat. It was