David Skorton
Smithsonian Institution
13th Secretary
2017 CME STEM Leadership Award Honoree for Science Involvement.
David Skorton, MD, is the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (SI), the world’s largest research and museum complex. An ardent supporter of science, the arts and humanities, he oversees 19 museums and galleries, 20 libraries, the National Zoo and numerous education and research centers including the Smithsonian Astrophysics Observatory, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian Environ-mental Research Center, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center. He manages an annual budget of $1.3 billion and 6,500 employees. Skorton Topics of vital public interest that he promotes include sustainability solutions on a large scale. Since 2015, SI opened the National Museum of African American History and Culture; and elevated the arts to a priority along with scientific, historical and cultural research and programs. Skorton, 67, a board-certified cardiologist, previously was the president of Cornell University, a position he held from July 2006. He was also a professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and in Cornell’s College of Engineering.