Burke Resigns As Smithsonian Deputy Secretary
Issue date: 9/19/07 Section: KSG News
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Nearly three months after submitting her resignation, Sheila Burke, adjunct lecturer at the Kennedy School, will step down this week as Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Smithsonian Institution, leaving behind a legacy marred by accusations of conflict of interest and chronic absences.
Burke submitted her resignation on June 17, the day before an independent investigation into the tenure of former Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small found that she had been absent for 400 business days at the Smithsonian, or roughly one-quarter of her time. The Independent Review Committee (IRC) report, which was commissioned by the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, also concluded that Burke's service on the board of an insurance company employed by the Smithsonian constituted an "obvious conflict of interest."
Small and Burke were hired in 2000 to fill the number one and two positions at the Smithsonian, a public institution which includes 19 museums and galleries, and receives 70 percent of its funding from the federal government. Controversy arose in 2006 when the high wages of top Smithsonian officials drew criticism from members of the House Appropriations Committee. That year, Small earned $884,733 and Burke $400,000 - the same as the President of the United States - salaries that Senator Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Finance Committee, said "signaled a champagne lifestyle at taxpayer expense."
Small, who was the highest ranking official at the Smithsonian and Burke's sole superior, resigned in March after an inspector general's report revealed extravagant spending and improper accounting practices, such as chartering a private jet for a business trip and spending $160,000 to redecorate his offices.
Then in April, the Washington Post reported that both Small and Burke had served on the board of the Chubb Group, an insurance company under contract with the Smithsonian. In 2006, Burke earned an estimated $169,675 in cash and stocks from Chubb, as well as options to purchase 56,000 shares. The Smithsonian's contract with Chubb, worth more than $500,000 per year, was renewed in 2001 during Small and Burke's tenure.
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