On March 10, 2014 the Smithsonian Institution selected Dr. David J. Skorton to be the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton will succeed the retiring G. Wayne Clough. Similar to Clough, who was president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Skorton spent nearly eleven years as a college president, first at the University of Iowa and later at Cornell University. Skorton is a board-certified cardiologist, and will be the first physician to lead the institution.
“Becoming a part of the Smithsonian is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead an institution that is at the heart of the country’s cultural, artistic, historical and scientific life,†Skorton said.
Clough will retire at the end of 2014. Skorton will assume the position in July 2015.