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Also present were Under Secretary Dean W. Anderson; Assistant Secretary for Administration John F. Jameson; Treasurer Ann R. Leven; Executive Assistant to the Secretary James M. Hobbins; and Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice Noel J. Augustyn. The Committee reviewed the proposed agenda for the February 1, 1988 meeting of the Board of Regents and observed that, with the amplifications below, the agenda papers reflected the Committee's views.

Highlighting the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Audit and Review Committee, Mr. Acheson commented that the Smithsonian's difficulties with respect to procuring and installing storage equipment for the Museum Support Center point to the complexities of design specifications which are at the leading edge of technology. He also said that the Committee will soon be discussing the proposed policy of a regularized rotation of independent auditors and will be gathering data on the practices of other not-for-profit institutions for the Regents' consideration.

In his Secretary's Report Mr. Adams made clear the priority he ascribes to finding new ways to enhance the representation of minorities and women in professional positions at the Smithsonian and related aspects of the Institution's relations with local and national constituencies. He said he intends to brief the Regents on these matters on February 1.

Referring to the Financial Report, Miss Leven pointed out that Coopers and Lybrand, the Institution's independent auditors, had given the Smithsonian a clean audit opinion for fiscal year 1987, though the auditors will express concern about the vulnerability of the Institution's investment portfolio in a period of wide stock market fluctuations. Mr. Jameson drew the Committee's attention to the favorable treatment the Institution had received from the Congress in its fiscal year 1988 appropriation and its fiscal year 1989 budget allowance from the Office of Management and Budget, both of which will allow the Institution to meet uncontrollable costs and sustain moderate growth in its programs, particularly in research and the restoration and renovation of facilities. The Committee was particularly gratified to see that both the Congress and the Office of Management and Budget are anxious to address the Smithsonian's backlog of capital improvements, but the Committee was also conscious of the amount of work remaining and the further large increments of funding which will be required. Miss Leven also reported that, in accordance with the Regents' resolution of September 17, 1979, the Institution had opened one new bank account, requiring the establishment of a new banking relationship, and closed an old account at another bank, both in Nepal, for the purpose of facilitating the transfer and utilization of funds for field research.

Referring to the paper "Policy on Restoration and Renovation, Construction Priorities" as the staff's preliminary attempt to address the Regents' concerns for a more orderly and sensible approach to the backlog of capital improvements and opportunities for new construction, Mr. Adams emphasized that the full range of construction priorities could not be listed with confidence until the concepts of the various projects and their related requirements, in addition to potential funding, could be more clearly developed. It was the Secretary's hope that a number of Smithsonian projects can be so described within the year.  In this regard