Former chair of the Board of Trustees Ira Michael Heyman '51 may become the next head of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian's Board of Regents will soon vote on a search committee's recommendation that Heyman fill the secretary position vacated last March.
The Board of Regents was scheduled to vote on the recommendation yesterday but postponed the vote because Vice President Al Gore, who sits on the board, wanted to be at the meeting but was unable to attend, said Mary Combs, a spokeswoman for the Smithsonian.
Gore went to South Africa to attend Nelson Mandela's presidential inauguration today.
The Board of Regents deferred to Gore because of the importance of the position and the administration's interest in the secretary's selection, said Wesley Williams, a member of the Board of Regents and the search committee.
Williams said Heyman is "an ideal candidate," and added that he expects the board will select Heyman at its next meeting, which will occur sometime before June.
The Board of Regents is composed of 17 people including the vice president, the chief justice of the United States, members of Congress and citizens.
Heyman served on the board for three and one-half years and headed the search committee before resigning in March so he could be considered for the position, the Washington Post reported.
In March, Robert Adams announced his retirement after serving as the Smithsonian's head for 10 years.
If selected, Heyman would be in charge of all the Institution's operations, including 16 museums, the National Zoo, numerous research facilities and more than 6,700 employees, Combs said.
Heyman, who served on the Board of Trustees from 1982-1993, would be the first non-scientist to be the Smithsonian's secretary.
"He is a distinguished former Trustee who has had a brilliant career," College Spokesman Alex Huppe said. "This is a coup for him and a source of immense pride for his alma mater."
Heyman is currently a counselor to Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. He served as Chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley from 1980-1990.
He received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth and he graduated from Yale Law School in 1956.
News Editor Christopher Kao contributed to this article from Washington, D.C.
