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Smithsonian head announces resignation : NPR
NPR • • general
Key Points:
- Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, announced his retirement effective at the end of the year, expressing mixed emotions and confidence in the institution's future leadership.
- Bunch has had a distinguished career spanning four decades at the Smithsonian, including founding and directing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016.
- During his tenure as secretary since 2019, Bunch was the first historian and African American to hold the position, advancing plans for the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
- The Smithsonian has faced criticism from former President Trump, who called for reviews and accused some museums of political activism, but Bunch defended the institution’s commitment to scholarship and accurate storytelling.
- Bunch stated his retirement was not due to external pressure but a personal decision that the time was right to step down.
