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completed by December 1988 and the cabinetry should be manufactured and installed in phases ending no later than June 1991. While Mr. Lingrell noted that the contractor has filed claims totalling $7.5 million against GSA, the Institution's ultimate liability requires careful review of the facts. The Secretary added that the Institution's most catastrophic damages are related most directly to adverse effects on its programs and staff morale.

Dr. Kerby circulated photographs and described the status of the move of museum objects to the Support Center, noting that over 300,000 specimens have been moved into "wet" storage in pod #3. She pointed out the complexities of this major move, including intricate processes for cleaning, disinfecting, packing, and transporting a great variety of objects. Despite delays in the installation of proper storage equipment at the Center, the move has not stopped as the museums continue to make preparations and in some instances have moved objects to temporary storage cabinets in pod #3. Nonetheless, deferred moves at both the Natural History and American History museums have disrupted plans for returning certain halls to exhibition use, have delayed placing objects in a more tightly controlled environment, and have reflected poorly on the Institution's planning processes. In discussion it was noted that several lessons have been learned: that construction based on a design at the "cutting edge" of technology should generally be avoided, or if necessary should be assumed to cost extra time and money; that the selection of a contractor should be based in large measure on proven ability to perform, not simply on the lowest bid; and that integral furnishings should be designed, estimated, and bid at the same time as the building's envelope.

Moving to the second item on the agenda, Mr. Kennedy outlined for the Committee approaches and outlets for research at the National Museum of American History, including exhibit-related research, that which is published, that which is based on collections, research in response to public inquiries, research for public programs and performances, and special directed research projects. Drs. Crouch and Molella spoke about trends and new developments in scholarly research in their respective divisions of the Museum, emphasizing in both areas the increasing significance of highly focussed research projects which often emanate from vague interests and sometimes serendipitous origins. As exemplified in several current exhibitions and recent publications and performances, interdisciplinary approaches to research are leading to coordinated forms of dissemination which related varieties of social, scientific, or technological developments to broader theme of American history and culture.

Moving into an executive session with the Secretary, Ms. Dodson, and Messrs. Anderson, Jameson, Hobbins, Powers, and Stanton, the Committee considered in detail the proposal to recommend a Regents' policy on the periodic rotation of the Institution's independent auditors. Mr. Mineta alluded to his experience in San Jose which suggested to him that any largely public (as distinguished from private sector) institution should have a ten- or at least fifteen-year limitation on the service of any independent auditor. In discussion the Committee expressed an interest in learning about the practices of a variety of quasi-public, not-for-profit institutions, specifically whether they impose periodic limitations, whether they resort to RFPs in selecting audit firms, and if so whether