Scientist Named to High Smithsonian Position
Cristian Samper, a Costa Rican-Colombian expert in biodiversity, has been named internal general director of Smithsonian Institution, according to the daily La Nacion.
The scientist joins one of the most prestigious scientific and historical organizations in the world, which operates some 20 museums worldwide as well as the Washington D.C. Zoo, the paper reported today.
Samper, 40, who received his doctorate degree from Harvard University, was named to replace Lawrence M. Small who came under criticsim from the institution’s board of regents for expenditures in housing, travel expenses and his office, as well as his way of administering the wide-flung network of museums. Small, who resigned Monday, managed to work his way up from an already generous salary to a point in which he was costing the institution an average of $2,500 per day.
Born in Costa Rica but raised in Columbia, Samper said he hoped that the museums under his direction would reflect the ideals of his native land.