G. Wayne Clough G. Wayne Clough, Smithsonian Institution’s 12th Secretary

Photo courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology

Interview with G. Wayne Clough

Smithsonian Institution's 12th Secretary discusses his new role, his distinguished career in education and his favorite artifact

  • By Beth Py-Lieberman
  • Smithsonian.com, May 01, 2008

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    On March 15, Smithsonian regents tapped G. Wayne Clough, a civil engineer and the president of Georgia Tech for 14 years, to be the Institution's 12th Secretary.

    How does it feel to sit in a chair that so few have occupied? And you'll be sitting in a Castle.
    I'll probably be running rather than sitting. It's exciting; it's an honor; and it's humbling. When I think about all those great people who have held this position, I realize what a responsibility I have on my hands. It all came home to me when I was in the Castle building's conference room and on the walls all around me were the portraits of the former secretaries. It felt like all their eyes were boring into me, demanding to know, is this guy going to live up to this thing?

    Tell me a bit about your childhood. What are your influences?
    I grew up in an idyllic small town in South Georgia named Douglas. My parents, Bessie and Daniel Clough, didn't have a lot of money. They both worked —they ran the ice and coal plant—so I was a latch-key kid. That allowed me to roam fairly far and wide in the woods and the swamps. A railroad ran right through the center of town and I would often jump on a train and ride it for a while. Douglas had a movie house that always showed a double feature on Saturday. I fell in love with movies as a boy, and to this day my wife and I love to go to movies. When electricity came to South Georgia, the ice and coal plant went out of business, and we moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. I met my wife there in middle school.

    Did your family ever get to Washington and visit the Smithsonian?
    No, we didn't do a lot of vacations. My parents worked hard all their lives and saved their money, because they wanted to send their kids to college. They even spaced us out four years apart so they'd have enough money to pay tuition for each of us.

    What's your favorite artifact?
    With my background in the geosciences, I tend to be a gem and mineral guy, so I find the Hope Diamond fascinating. I was pleased to learn in reading about James Smithson that he had a similar love for minerals. But it's so difficult to pick just one thing, when there is so much to choose from. My wife, Anne, and I had a tour of the Treasures of American History at the Air and Space museum, and spent some time in the National Portrait Gallery. The building for the Portrait Gallery, the Reynolds Center, is remarkable. What a spectacular renovation!

    You've written stories about your pets.
    Anne and I have had pets all of our lives—six dogs and six cats. They have shaped our lives with each other and with our children, Eliza and Matthew. Each pet was special, and we dearly loved all of them. So I wrote a memoir about all of our pets for my wife—stories of how their lives were woven into our lives.

    What's your research specialization at the moment?
    These days I do a lot of policy work related to research and developing ideas for research, more than research itself. My background is geo-engineering, or geo-science, an inherently interdisciplinary field because you deal with what nature gives you. You do your best to mathematically quantify it all and characterize it by chemistry, or biology, or some other principles of science. So I'm accustomed to a world where things are not always defined precisely by a specific discipline. At Georgia Tech I've worked to get our institution engaged in what I call the great issues of the day. The great issues of the day typically are interdisciplinary. Take sustainability, for example. How are we going to continue to grow an economy in this world in a way that is sustainable so future generations can live on this planet in some semblance of what we have today? Another example is energy. Energy demand will grow by 50 percent by the year 2030, and there is nothing stopping it. The economies of China and India are continuing to roar. Clearly we're going to need every source of energy we've got, including carbon-based fuels—petroleum-based fuels as well as coal. We've got to figure out ways to use these fuels as energy sources that don't damage the planet. We've got to cut down on the greenhouse gases, and we've got to capture the carbon we produce. We have to do all those things, and that's an interdisciplinary problem.

    And is that something you'll carry with you to the Smithsonian?
    I hope. I will look for ways at the Smithsonian for us to be engaged in these great issues. That also translates into education. How do you educate young people so that they'll carry out these activities? How can young people compete in a world where they're going to be taking jobs ten years from now that don't exist today, using technology that doesn't exist today?

    As president of Georgia Tech, you're credited with a paradigm shift, focusing on creative pursuits such as music, poetry and team sports. In fact, Georgia Tech experienced a 50 percent increase in engineering students who also played musical instruments. Do you envision such a paradigm shift for the Smithsonian Institution?
    I think that the Smithsonian has huge assets and resources that can be used in different ways that can be shaped to address issues in a way not possible if everyone stays confined in one space. It's not a question of changing what those assets are; it's a question of looking at them in a different way.

    Your new office overlooks the shuttered Arts and Industries building, and that building needs more than $170 million to renovate. Will the Smithsonian's infrastructure be a priority?
    Yes, of course, and yet at the same time I do think, based on my experience as a civil engineer, that the press reports of the Smithsonian's infrastructure issues are overstated. There is no question the need is large; there is no question it is a problem; and there is no question, again speaking as a civil engineer, that it will take a good deal of time. One should not be overwhelmed by it. You need to develop a carefully reasoned plan and work it out with your stakeholders. You need to talk about how you'll address this problem issue by issue by issue, so that in three to four years you have tackled those problems you said you were going to tackle. The Arts and Industries building is a spectacularly beautiful building. I don't know quite what the ultimate outcome of the building will be for its use, but I think you'd have to think very carefully about what you would do with that building because it holds such a central position on the Mall.

    The first day A&I building opened in 1881, it leaked.
    I was a student at Georgia Tech, and when I first came back as president, they took me to an old building. With a horrified look, they pointed up at the roof and said, "Can you believe a technological university has a building that leaks right there?" I said, "It leaked right there when I was a student 35 years ago." So these problems are hard to solve sometimes. But I think the important thing is that, while we recognize the individual issues, challenges, and opportunities of each of the units, we also need to look at the integrating factors, the things they have in common, the things that bind them together. For example, I think that educational outreach is a binding theme for all of the entities at the Smithsonian. How can we use that theme to create some exciting new opportunities for the Smithsonian to reach into, for example K-12, or even to collaborate with universities and provide scholarship? So we really want to emphasize, I think, the scholarship, the knowledge creation, and the educational opportunities that are here at the Smithsonian.

    On March 15, Smithsonian regents tapped G. Wayne Clough, a civil engineer and the president of Georgia Tech for 14 years, to be the Institution's 12th Secretary.

    How does it feel to sit in a chair that so few have occupied? And you'll be sitting in a Castle.
    I'll probably be running rather than sitting. It's exciting; it's an honor; and it's humbling. When I think about all those great people who have held this position, I realize what a responsibility I have on my hands. It all came home to me when I was in the Castle building's conference room and on the walls all around me were the portraits of the former secretaries. It felt like all their eyes were boring into me, demanding to know, is this guy going to live up to this thing?

    Tell me a bit about your childhood. What are your influences?
    I grew up in an idyllic small town in South Georgia named Douglas. My parents, Bessie and Daniel Clough, didn't have a lot of money. They both worked —they ran the ice and coal plant—so I was a latch-key kid. That allowed me to roam fairly far and wide in the woods and the swamps. A railroad ran right through the center of town and I would often jump on a train and ride it for a while. Douglas had a movie house that always showed a double feature on Saturday. I fell in love with movies as a boy, and to this day my wife and I love to go to movies. When electricity came to South Georgia, the ice and coal plant went out of business, and we moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee. I met my wife there in middle school.

    Did your family ever get to Washington and visit the Smithsonian?
    No, we didn't do a lot of vacations. My parents worked hard all their lives and saved their money, because they wanted to send their kids to college. They even spaced us out four years apart so they'd have enough money to pay tuition for each of us.

    What's your favorite artifact?
    With my background in the geosciences, I tend to be a gem and mineral guy, so I find the Hope Diamond fascinating. I was pleased to learn in reading about James Smithson that he had a similar love for minerals. But it's so difficult to pick just one thing, when there is so much to choose from. My wife, Anne, and I had a tour of the Treasures of American History at the Air and Space museum, and spent some time in the National Portrait Gallery. The building for the Portrait Gallery, the Reynolds Center, is remarkable. What a spectacular renovation!

    You've written stories about your pets.
    Anne and I have had pets all of our lives—six dogs and six cats. They have shaped our lives with each other and with our children, Eliza and Matthew. Each pet was special, and we dearly loved all of them. So I wrote a memoir about all of our pets for my wife—stories of how their lives were woven into our lives.

    What's your research specialization at the moment?
    These days I do a lot of policy work related to research and developing ideas for research, more than research itself. My background is geo-engineering, or geo-science, an inherently interdisciplinary field because you deal with what nature gives you. You do your best to mathematically quantify it all and characterize it by chemistry, or biology, or some other principles of science. So I'm accustomed to a world where things are not always defined precisely by a specific discipline. At Georgia Tech I've worked to get our institution engaged in what I call the great issues of the day. The great issues of the day typically are interdisciplinary. Take sustainability, for example. How are we going to continue to grow an economy in this world in a way that is sustainable so future generations can live on this planet in some semblance of what we have today? Another example is energy. Energy demand will grow by 50 percent by the year 2030, and there is nothing stopping it. The economies of China and India are continuing to roar. Clearly we're going to need every source of energy we've got, including carbon-based fuels—petroleum-based fuels as well as coal. We've got to figure out ways to use these fuels as energy sources that don't damage the planet. We've got to cut down on the greenhouse gases, and we've got to capture the carbon we produce. We have to do all those things, and that's an interdisciplinary problem.

    And is that something you'll carry with you to the Smithsonian?
    I hope. I will look for ways at the Smithsonian for us to be engaged in these great issues. That also translates into education. How do you educate young people so that they'll carry out these activities? How can young people compete in a world where they're going to be taking jobs ten years from now that don't exist today, using technology that doesn't exist today?

    As president of Georgia Tech, you're credited with a paradigm shift, focusing on creative pursuits such as music, poetry and team sports. In fact, Georgia Tech experienced a 50 percent increase in engineering students who also played musical instruments. Do you envision such a paradigm shift for the Smithsonian Institution?
    I think that the Smithsonian has huge assets and resources that can be used in different ways that can be shaped to address issues in a way not possible if everyone stays confined in one space. It's not a question of changing what those assets are; it's a question of looking at them in a different way.

    Your new office overlooks the shuttered Arts and Industries building, and that building needs more than $170 million to renovate. Will the Smithsonian's infrastructure be a priority?
    Yes, of course, and yet at the same time I do think, based on my experience as a civil engineer, that the press reports of the Smithsonian's infrastructure issues are overstated. There is no question the need is large; there is no question it is a problem; and there is no question, again speaking as a civil engineer, that it will take a good deal of time. One should not be overwhelmed by it. You need to develop a carefully reasoned plan and work it out with your stakeholders. You need to talk about how you'll address this problem issue by issue by issue, so that in three to four years you have tackled those problems you said you were going to tackle. The Arts and Industries building is a spectacularly beautiful building. I don't know quite what the ultimate outcome of the building will be for its use, but I think you'd have to think very carefully about what you would do with that building because it holds such a central position on the Mall.

    The first day A&I building opened in 1881, it leaked.
    I was a student at Georgia Tech, and when I first came back as president, they took me to an old building. With a horrified look, they pointed up at the roof and said, "Can you believe a technological university has a building that leaks right there?" I said, "It leaked right there when I was a student 35 years ago." So these problems are hard to solve sometimes. But I think the important thing is that, while we recognize the individual issues, challenges, and opportunities of each of the units, we also need to look at the integrating factors, the things they have in common, the things that bind them together. For example, I think that educational outreach is a binding theme for all of the entities at the Smithsonian. How can we use that theme to create some exciting new opportunities for the Smithsonian to reach into, for example K-12, or even to collaborate with universities and provide scholarship? So we really want to emphasize, I think, the scholarship, the knowledge creation, and the educational opportunities that are here at the Smithsonian.

    The Washington Post says you face "daunting challenges." What will you do in your first 100 days?
    Listen. Listening is a big part of it. I need to meet with people, to get out and talk to as many Smithsonian employees and stakeholders as possible. It certainly seems clear to me at this point that each of the entities within the Smithsonian is unique, and has a unique set of opportunities and a unique set of issues. So we need to clarify what the problems and opportunities are, but at the same time make early progress on those issues that are ripe to be solved.

    The Institution's moniker is the "Nation's Attic," which implies a dusty storage space, or an homage to things past. What is your vision of the Institution's relevance in the 21st century?
    There is no way this is an attic. This is an Institution with an amazing future. It's an Institution that has a huge amount of scholarship and knowledge discovery going on and excitement associated with it. I don't see an attic in any way coming close to describing this great Institution. So this is the last time you'll hear me use that phrase.

    They say the job of Secretary is to "herd cats."
    I do believe the Smithsonian is fortunate to have in place many dedicated and passionate employees who know their business, and it's not necessarily my job to come in and tell them how to run their business. What I want to do is to work with them to shape a common agenda for the Smithsonian for the future, and then I will rely on them to do their job within that agenda. I will expect them to operate at the highest level of business ethics. Those are the kinds of common things that I will ask everybody to do. But I do believe in providing expectations and delegating responsibility to people, and then having a process of accountability for meeting those expectations. It's too big of an institution for one person to "run it." It needs to operate well, based on having great people who know what they are doing and who are constantly creating new ideas that challenge anyone who sits in the position of secretary. The greatest Ph.D. students that I had were the ones that came to me with ideas that I had not thought of, and that makes it fun.

    Georgia Tech grew during your tenure with campuses in France, Ireland, Singapore and Shanghai. Do you have any thoughts on expanding the Smithsonian's global influence?
    Clearly the Smithsonian, with its collections and its research, has a great opportunity to have a positive impact on how the world sees our country. We already have Smithsonian operations in other countries, and the Panama station is a good example. The question is do we want to do more and if so how? Obviously money is in short supply. We have a lot of issues that face us internally that probably should receive first priority, but I do believe we should explore what our role should be internationally.

    What will you miss most about Georgia Tech?
    Obviously all the people—the friends and the wonderful folks who have worked so hard to make Georgia Tech a better place—particularly the students. It's just fantastic for a person of my generation to be around these talented young people. I hear so many negative things about the world and about our country from a lot of people, but when I am around these young people, I find nothing negative there. There is huge potential. I believe in hope, and I think these young people capture it for all of us, so I'm going to miss them.

    We all read your joke in the press about a Smithsonian football team. We're wondering if we'll ever get a chance to trounce Georgia Tech's Yellow Jackets. What do you think?
    Probably not in my lifetime, but it would be fun to try. Maybe we could all get out on the Mall for tryouts and see who's any good.


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    Comments

    Thank you President Clough for all you have done for our wonderful institution! God Bless you and your family.

    Posted by Ed Allman on April 12,2008 | 05:41PM

    What a wonderful, warm and personal interview, offering insight into the heart and mind of the man. Thank you! As the new Program Manager of Jazz Appreciation Month, I look forward to working with Secretary Clough and having my department grow under his leadership. Joann

    Posted by Joann Stevens on April 14,2008 | 07:29AM

    G. Wayne was loved by everyone at Tech. The Smithsonian is lucky to have him. Good luck Secretary Clough and we'll miss you at the (other) Institute.

    Posted by Adam on April 25,2008 | 05:20PM

    I have to say I am entirely puzzled as to why Dr. Clough has sought or accepted this position. His interests in science, art and the humanities, and scholarship in these areas seems lukewarm, at best, and the word "museum" does not even come up. It seems he knows very little about the Smithsonian or its activities, less so than the average reader of Smithsonian Magazine. Clearly, since the departure of Secretary Dillon Ripley, it has been the intention of the Regents and others who control the direction of the Institution to mine its resources and its reputation for short-term economic and political gains: thus the obscene proliferation of lavish corporate and donor recognition, and a spate of projects that had little to do with repairing leaky roofs or most fundamental issues related to the "increase and diffusion of knowledge". To be sure, the history of the Smithsonian has always involved a "tug of war" between its roles as a research institution and a museum organization. However, the compulsive transformation of SI into a business enterprise has been nothing but destructive to these traditional interests, and to the national interest as a whole. And Dr. Clough's central thoughts, about administration and "business ethics", would seem to offer little relief from this horrendous series of developments.

    Posted by James Bryant on April 25,2008 | 11:37PM

    As a recent Georgia Tech graduate, I hate to see Clough leave because of all the great things he has done for Tech. The Smithsonian will thrive under his leadership and you are very lucky to have him.

    Posted by Tim on April 27,2008 | 01:14PM

    My thirty year career with the SI began with Whetmore and ended with Ripley- all good men. Since then there have been somelosers who have caused the SI great problems. My highest hopeis that G. Wayne Clough is a winner. His views on the expense to fix the A&I Building are encouraging as I've long thought that estimate of 170 million to be a bad guess. Except for his cats- I wish him well.

    Posted by benjamin lawless on May 1,2008 | 08:32AM

    Not a very impressive interview. Bland questions and automatic answers designed to avoid controversy.

    Posted by Matt on May 13,2008 | 12:47PM

    Dr. Clough is an exceptional leader and I have no doubt he will impress and win over the few that presently do not believe he has what it takes. When it comes to making positive things happen, he is not one in a million - more like one in a billion. All the best to Dr. Clough, his wife Anne, and The Smithsonian Institution.

    Posted by Daren Pietsch on May 28,2008 | 08:56AM

    I have been employed at Georgia Institute of Technology for the past 16 years and the impact of losing President Clough hit me when our faculty/staff newspaper, The Whistle, did a goodbye issue to him. President Clough not only rebuilt our campus, his footprint is embedded in the City of Atlanta to which he has contributed so very much. This is a thoughtful leader. As sad as it was to see him leave Georgia Tech, if I were asked to chose a person into whose hands I would place the history of our nation, Wayne Clough would get my vote. I believe that through his tenure, our national archives will be available to everyone in the country. This position does not require a person to "know" museums; it requires a smart, innovative person who can get things done. I have no doubt that Georgia Tech's loss will be a definite gain to the Smithsonian.

    Posted by Allyana Ziolko on June 10,2008 | 06:44AM

    Dr. G. Wayne Clough was the heart and soul The Georgia Institute of Technology. During my five years there he showed the world what a simple man can do to make a difference. I have met no better man, Politian, professor, or otherwise who was able to clarify his vision and inspire students and facility with the same since of hope he had. And for the last 14 years Georgia Tech has been one of the world’s leading research institutions. For those that have never had the privilege or pleasure of meet a TECH grad, you would not understand. But as someone who has met many TECH grads and who personally shook Dr Clough's hand at his own graduation, you have hired a work horse: 1.) A person that has and will spend countless hours to archive the goal. 2.) A person that sees not problems, but new opportunities to make a difference, 3.) Someone that believes to the core of their being that the impossible can be accomplished with sweat and elbow grease! All good things must come to an end, and so as the door closes on the Presidents office of GT, I am happy to see such a great man moving on to open the doors for all of use at the US Smithsonian.

    Posted by James Class of '03 on June 17,2008 | 08:16AM

    I read the interview of Secretary G. Wayne Clough and it was heart-warming and personal, as an Officer at the Smithsonian I have the highest hope for the Secretary and his views on fixing up or looking at fixing up A&I Building, time will tell, and from what I read we are very lucky to have such a good man.

    Posted by Officer C. Morton on July 11,2008 | 09:55AM

    We are really going to miss you, Big Guy, on the Georgia Tech campus.

    Posted by Richard and Beverly "Queen Bee" Swanson on July 19,2008 | 07:39PM

    I first met Wayne Clough when he was a Department Head at Viginia Tech many years ago. I was impressed with him then, and have watched his career ever since. He is an extraordinary individual and the Smithsonian is indeed fortunate to have as its leader, such an energetic and cerebral individual, who is also a great problem solver.

    Posted by Bill Brittle on August 7,2008 | 12:19PM

    A technology leader leading the largest museum in the country? This is extremely exciting and encouraging. He must leverage technology - the internet and 3D imaging - to make the collection more accessible - to students, to other parts of the world, to the visually and physically challenged, etc. We have the ability to put much of the collection of museums on-line in an appealing way - to educate and entertain all at the same time. Use the technologies of video games and virtual reality to present museum objects in 3D. Industry is using it, we've all seen the wild commericials and Discovery channel shows; museums must do it too. If you start it, it will grow!

    Posted by Michael Raphael on September 16,2008 | 11:19AM

    I would like to congratulate Dr. G. Wayne Clough on his recent appoint as the new Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute. As a former government worker and small business owner and American citizen, I visited many of the museums in the Smithsonian family and appreciate your selection as the person entrusted to carry forward the tradition of this important and great institution. I am further pleased to see the selection of Mr.David Adjaye to head up a team of four architects that will design and build with Dr. Clough leadership and support of all Americans the proposed National Museum of African American History and Culture. In this great country, we as Americans have the ability to bring together the culture and contributions of all people in our nation's capital to educate and preserve the legacy for our children, future generations and the world to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the human race.

    Posted by Coy M. LaSister on May 26,2009 | 06:08AM

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