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 WASHINGTON (AP) - The Smithsonian Institution announced Monday that its top official, Secretary Lawrence M. Small, has resigned amid criticism about his spending. Small, the first businessman to run the 160-year-old museum and research complex, resigned over the weekend after more than seven years as secretary. The decision was unanimously accepted Sunday by the Smithsonian's Board of Regents.
"His long service and outstanding service were weighed against the current contrary feelings among some people in the community," said Roger Sant, chairman of the Smithsonian board's executive committee. "It was a very hard, conflicted decision."
Cristian Samper, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, was appointed acting secretary while the regents conduct a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
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