Culture

Smithsonian: on the Road to Tomorrow

July 1, 2016  • Arts Program

David Skorton became the 13th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution on July 1, 2015. A board-certified cardiologist who previously served as president of Cornell University, Skorton entered the institution at a time of transition and renovation, with new museums like the National Museum of African American History and Culture slated to open soon and major overhauls on old favorites like the Castle and the National Air and Space Museum waiting on the near horizon. Skorton has said that the Smithsonian is founded “the principle that education empowers a person, and therefore, a nation.” After a year on the job, he discussed with David Rubenstein the road forward for the world’s largest museum and research complex.