Museum CEO exhibits strategy

While millions of visitors walk through museums every year at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., few realize the behind-the-scenes work that goes into financing the exhibits and artifact displays. Michael Heyman -- the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution who acts as the chief executive officer for the world's largest museum complex -- spoke to a group of about 150 students Thursday about the financial changes he has brought to the organization. In the lecture, which was part of the Wharton graduate school's Zweig Executive Dinner Series and was held in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, Heyman discussed his unique experience of being the CEO of a non-profit organization -- a perspective much of the audience had not likely considered. To exemplify that perspective, Heyman related his job to something more familiar. "Managing the Smithsonian is like managing a university," he said. "You need to balance the research with education." As an example of the different perspectives with which he approaches his work, Heyman explained the need to carefully toe the line between "making money and not denigrating [the Smithsonian's] reputation." After serving as chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley, Heyman was appointed to his current position at the Smithsonian in 1984. Under his auspices, the museum complex has sustained a period of growth and change. Heyman described the transition as a careful process of navigating through politics and business. Most of the audience was fascinated by Heyman's financial expertise. Stuart Liventals, a second-year Wharton graduate student, commented on Heyman's "unexpected financial presentation of the Smithsonian." The specific changes Heyman plans to implement before he steps down later this year involve the separation of the business component of the Smithsonian from the academic and educational components. Heyman said he realized that the Smithsonian's business ventures -- key sources of funding for the maintenance of exhibits and research -- were inefficient. Money from these ventures, which include operations such as the Smithsonian magazine, book and music retailing and merchandise sales at the museums, was not being used to its fullest potential. Heyman realized that the Smithsonian's management system "didn't reward productivity particularly and was without any punishment." As a result of consulting advice, the Smithsonian today functions with a different department assuming all business functions of the institution. In setting the Smithsonian on this path, Heyman has followed the example of the National Geographic Society, another non-profit organization, in dealing with fundraising activities. Heyman also updated the audience on the controversy surrounding several exhibits, such as those on the Enola Gay and sweatshops, and the reorganization of the famous Museum of Natural History.