Smithsonian to Reduce Pay for Top Executives

In the wake of compensation scandals that have beset the Smithsonian Institution, the organization has decided to lower the pay of at least 17 executives five years from now, reports the Associated Press.

After news reports spotlighted the fact that Lawrence M. Small, the Smithsonian’s former secretary, earned $916,000 in 2007 and charged the organization for housekeeping, repairs to his swimming pool, and a number of other expenses, the Smithsonian has undertaken efforts to reform its structure and ethics.

The projected cuts may range from $6,000 to $80,000 each in base salaries. The chief financial officer position may have a pay cut of as much as $120,000, or 41 percent less than the current salary earned by Alice Maroni, chief financial officer.

The Smithsonian is waiting five years to make salary changes because, officials say, it wants to prevent current leaders from leaving. The institution decided to reduce pay, said officials, to bring them more in line with similar positions elsewhere in the federal government.

Some believe that the Smithsonian has not done enough to overhaul its pay scales. Wayne Clough, the current secretary of the Smithsonian, earns more than $500,000 per year.

Pablo Eisenberg, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute and a regular contributor to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, tells the Associated Press, “One has to ask, what’s the logic of paying Clough $500,000 and then paying the others so much less?”

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