Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of records documenting the administrative activities of the Office of International Relations and its predecessors, the Directorate of International Activities and the Office of International Activities, respectively, in regard to office budgetary matters and the coordinating of internationally-focused Smithsonian projects and initiatives such as grants, conferences, diplomatic visits, scientific research, and museum project management. Staff represented in these records include director Francine C. Berkowitz; assistant director Brian Lemay; and international liaison specialist and senior policy advisor Leonard P. Hirsch, who was responsible for the support of Smithsonian scientific programs, with an emphasis on global environmental concerns. Of note are records related to Hirsch's work on gay rights in the workplace, both at the Smithsonian Institution and in the federal government. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, and notes; meeting agendas and minutes; budget summaries; contracts and agreements; reports; grant proposals; survey information; questionnaires, fellowship and research program information; news releases; speech papers; Smithsonian Foreign Currency Program information; guidelines and procedures; information about conferences, symposiums, committees, workshops, exhibitions, and special events; photographs and negatives; clippings; brochures; floor plans; videotapes; and supporting documentation. Some materials are in electronic format.