Lonnie Bunch Announces Retirement as Smithsonian Secretary
Bunch said the decision was personal as the Smithsonian faces pressure over exhibits on race, slavery and American history.
- On Tuesday, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced his retirement after seven years as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, describing his tenure as a profound privilege and calling the institution one of the great loves of his life.
- Bunch began his career in the late 1970s when Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins hired him to work in the education department, later returning to lead the NMAAHC before his 2019 appointment as Secretary.
- His tenure expanded the institution's roster of 19 museums by adding two new members: the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino, cementing institutional growth.
- Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, who serves as the Smithsonian chancellor, said the Board of Regents will manage the transition and ensure a smooth succession for Bunch's replacement.
- Bunch described the Smithsonian as a "national classroom," emphasizing that the institution's work helps the nation understand its complex history and remains essential to America's self-understanding.
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225 Articles
Ronnie Bunch III, Executive Director of the Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum and research institution in the United States, is resigning. The Donald Trump administration has been pressuring the foundation, criticizing its exhibitions and academic activities as "anti-American ideology." In a press release issued on the 8th (local time), Executive Director Bunch stated, "It has been a great honor to spend nearly half of my life working …
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized the way the institution presents American history.
Smithsonian’s first Black secretary to retire
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the Smithsonian Institution’s first Black secretary and founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, will retire at the end of the year after seven years leading the institution. Bunch, 73, announced his retirement Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s administration presses the Smithsonian to change how its […]
The first African-American leader of the prestigious institution announced his "retirement" as he faced numerous pressures from the Trump administration, accusing the Smithsonian of conveying an overly progressive world view.
The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized the way the institution presents American history.
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