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NATIONAL CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

The Regents were asked to permit further planning with respect to the possible establishment of a National Center for Biological Diversity within the Smithsonian. There has been considerable agitation for Congressional action on behalf of several bills now pending on this matter, and the Institution needs to be prepared. How such a center might best be organized and function within the Smithsonian needs further study.

Mr. Adams noted that several countervailing considerations -- including the prospects for Federal funding and the Smithsonian's own relationship to the government -- suggest a cautious approach and place special demands on the process of drafting legislation. In discussion, it was suggested that the Smithsonian might undertake such an effort as a joint enterprise with another world organization which might have access to funding -- a suggestion which is being explored. It was also observed that the Institution must be especially careful in advancing this initiative in a period of such fiscal austerity; the result could be added strain for existing but poorly funded operations. At the same time, it was recognized that an institution needs to try to avoid paralysis under those circumstances, and there is a great temptation to want to move ahead. The following motion was unanimously approved:
VOTED that the Board of Regents encourages the Secretary to undertake further planning with respect to the establishment of a National Center for Biological Diversity within the Smithsonian Institution.

THE ROLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN IN PRESENTING BALANCED PERSPECTIVES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

Owing to the limited amount of time left in their meeting, the Regents agreed to place this subject on their agenda for their next regularly scheduled meeting. In a preliminary discussion, the Secretary indicated that he had started to work on a paper which would help frame that discussion, and the Regents made several suggestions which might be included in that presentation. As this discussion was concluded, lists of representative Smithsonian exhibitions, public lectures, and television and film productions over the last year were distributed for the Regents' information. The Secretary commented that few people would be aware of the great diversity and huge volume of what goes on at the Smithsonian.

AFRICAN AMERICAN INSTITUTIONAL STUDY: AN ANALYSIS OF COLLECTIONS

Mr. Adams commented that, in his view, the study conducted over the summer discovered a genuine possibility of quickly bringing major collections forward for the proposed National African American Museum. How fast the Smithsonian moves forward with this in a time of severe fiscal constraints is a matter that rests upon interactions with the Office of Management and Budget, the Congress, and other concerned constituencies. Nonetheless, thanks to this study, the question of whether a potential exists to form collections has been answered with a resounding affirmative.