[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 165 (Tuesday, October 24, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15579-S15580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MOYNIHAN (for himself, Mr. Cochran and Mr. Simpson):
  S.J. Res. 39. A joint resolution to provide for the appointment of 
Howard H. Baker, Jr. as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  S.J. Res. 40. A joint resolution to provide for the appointment of 
Anne D'Harnoncourt as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  S.J. Res. 41. A joint resolution to provide for the appointment of 
Louis Gerstner as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.


     appointments as citizen regents of the smithsonian institution

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I introduce three joint resolutions to 
appoint Howard H. Baker, Jr., Anne D'Harnoncourt and Louis V. Gerstner, 
Jr., to serve as citizen regents of the Smithsonian Institution. I 
introduce these Joint-resolutions on behalf of my distinguished 
colleagues, Senators Cochran and Simpson, with whom I have the 
privilege to serve on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents.
  Howard Baker, whose reputation is well known among the Members of 
this body, is a superb public servant. After spending 18 illustrious 
years in the Senate, during which time he served 4 years as Majority 
Leader, Senator Baker went on to become President Reagan's most trusted 
advisor. He has since returned to private practice, as the senior 
partner in the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell, but has 
remained an active leader in the political and business communities. 
His commitment to both communities is marked by his membership on the 
Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington Institute of Foreign 
Affairs and his positions on the boards of Federal Express, United 
Technologies, and Penzoil. He has most deservedly received the Nation's 
highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as 
the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Performed by an Elected 
or Appointed Official.
  As the distinguished statesman and gifted strategist that he is, 
Howard Baker would bring to the Smithsonian a voice that can talk to 
Congress at a time when that is what is most urgently needed. The 
Institution would benefit immensely from his political and fiscal 
wisdom, and I urge my colleagues to support his appointment.
  Just as Senator Baker would add his expertise on matters political 
and economic, Ms. Anne D'Harnoncourt would bring to the Smithsonian 
vast experience in the management and oversight of a large museum. 
Having served with her for some 15 years on the Board of the Hirshorn 
Museum, I can think of no person better suited to serve on the Board of 
Regents.
  Ms. D'Harnoncourt has served as an Assistant Curator for the Art 
Institute of Chicago, a Curator for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and 
is currently the George D. Widener Director of the Philadelphia Museum 
of Art. She has a broad base of expertise in the Arts, and is among the 
most actively involved in that community. As the Smithsonian continues 
to broaden its mission within the Sciences, Ms. D'Harnoncourt surely 
would help the Institution remain focused on its long-standing 
commitment to the Arts. Her knowledge and experience would be of 
inestimable value to the Board of Regents, and I eagerly urge her 
appointment.
  Finally, Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., a gifted leader in the business and 
educational communities. Mr. Gerstner was named chairman and chief 
executive officer of International Business Machines Corporation on 
April 1, 1993, prior to which he served for 4 years as chairman and 
chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco Inc. He received his B.A. from 
Dartmouth College in 1963, his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 
1965, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of Business Administration 
from Boston College in 1994.
  Mr. Gerstner has long been an advocate of improving the quality of 
public education in America. He is the co-author of ``Re-Inventing 
Education: Entrepreneurship in America's Public Schools'' (Dutton, 
1994), which documents public school reforms designed to enable our 
children to handle the demands of today's complex global economy. At 
IBM he has re-directed a majority of the company's substantial 
philanthropic resources to support public school reform. His dedication 
to re-inventing both education and management makes him an ideal 
candidate to serve on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents.
  Mr. President, I hope my colleagues will agree that this profoundly 
talented triumvirate is most deserving of these appointments, and I 
urge Senators to support all three resolutions.
 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senators 
Moynihan and Simpson in introducing joint resolutions providing for the 
appointment of Howard H. Baker, Jr., Anne d'Harnoncourt, and Louis V. 
Gerstner, Jr., as Citizen Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
  Howard Baker is a distinguished public servant well known in this 
body. He was a Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985, serving as 
Minority Leader from 1977 to 1981 and as Majority Leader from 1981 to 
1985. He was Chief of Staff to President Reagan in 1987 and 1988 before 
returning to the private practice of law. He has received the Nation's 
highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, as well as 
the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Performed by an Elected 
or Appointed Official.
  Anne d'Harnoncourt is currently the George D. Widener Director of the 
Philadelphia Museum of Art, having previously served that museum as 
Curator of Twentieth Century Art and as Assistant Curator of Twentieth 
Century Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. A Fellow of the American 
Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is a member of numerous advisory 
committees and boards, including the Board of Directors of The Henry 
Luce Foundation and the Board of Overseers of the 

[[Page S 15580]]
Graduate School of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania.
  Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 
International Business Machines Corp. He previously served as chairman 
and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco and as president of American 
Express Company. He is a director of The New York Times Company, 
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the Japan Society, and Lincoln Center for 
the Performing Arts. A lifetime advocate of the importance of quality 
education, he has redirected a majority of IBM's substantial 
philanthropic resources in the United States to the support of public 
school reform.
  I urge Senators to support the resolutions of appointment of these 
outstanding Americans.

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