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NMAI staff are highly cognizant of the aesthetic and artistic aspects of the collections, no less than the anthropological, cultural, and historical dimensions. Each of these facets of the new museum is being weighed carefully in the ongoing process of consultation, planning, and development.

The Council expresses a keen interest in the training capabilities of the new museum complex. NMAI will reflect the overall Institutional priority given to training, fellowships, and professional and scholarly development. Some programs already are in place to train American Indian students, including a long-standing program at the National Museum of Natural History. By the summer of 1992, NMAI will have recruited both a training coordinator and an outreach coordinator. A full-scale training program will follow upon these appointments. Training programs, however, at least in the short term, are constrained by the rather limited number of approximately 15 professional staff in Washington. New recruitments and staff development over time will address the existing gaps and shortages. 

The return this year to the theme of cultural diversity brought stimulating discussion that included responses to the findings and recommendations of a report of the Cultural Education Committee (CEC). The recommendation of CEC that bureau, office, and program officials take the initiative to implement cultural diversity goals in various areas of the Institution will be addressed in the coming months.

I concur with the Council's recommendation that the four Assistant Secretaries for museums, public service, research, and external affairs should continue to be involved in, and be accountable for, advancing cultural diversity goals. Carmen Turner and I have made this an element of the performance plan for each Assistant Secretary. 

The Council also indicates a concern for an increase in programs involving Hispanic American and Asian American cultures and communities. Several initiatives are already under way. The Assistant Secretaries for external affairs, museums, public service, and research have been asked to meet with Alicia Gonzalez, director of Quincentenary Programs, to develop a proposal that would elaborate on an earlier plan to create a more formal Smithsonian focus on Latin American and the Caribbean, tentatively entitled an "Institute of the Americas."

Regarding Asian American culture, Assistant Secretary James Early and his colleague Marshall Wong, director of the Smithsonian's Office of Wider Audience Development, are completing a draft prospectus on the expanding relationships with Asian American scholarly communities and audiences. This proposal derives, in part, from discussions that have been held between Marshall Wong and John Kuo Wei Tchen.

There has been discussion in the past few years with the National Museum of American History (NMAH), the director of Quincentenary Programs, and the CEC concerning expanded program development and increased staffing for the Hispanic American Program at NMAH. A first positive step is the fairly recent hiring of a Hispanic American curator. As you know, the exhibition entitled "American Encounters," soon to open at NMAH, will focus on the cross-cultural exchanges in the hemisphere.

Reflecting on other Council concerns in the area of cultural diversity, I am pleased to note that several members of the Smithsonian Council also serve on the CEC: Luis R. Cancel (I hope members of the Council are all aware of his recent appointment as New York City's Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, and are as pleased as we are with it), Shirley M. Malcom, Cheryl McClenney-Brooker, and Dorothy B. Gilliam. Shirley M. McBay's agreement at the October Council meeting to serve as a liaison between the Council and CEC promises to be quite beneficial. The Education Subcommittee of CEC, chaired by Shirley McBay, is currently addressing the need to increase the pool of qualified minority museum specialists by means of internship programs and collaborative relationships with outside institutions serving large numbers of minority students. There also is ongoing collaboration with the American Association for the Advancement of