Adams, Robert McCormick, Jr., 1926-2018

Robert McCormick Adams, an archaeologist and anthropologist, served as the Smithsonian’s ninth Secretary from 1984-1994, Prior to his work as Secretary, he was director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago in 1962-68 and 1981-83. Born in Chicago in 1926, Adams earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1957. He stayed on to teach at the university and in 1982 was named provost. Adams’ scholarly work focused principally on the agricultural and urban history of the Near and Middle East, and the geographical and archaeological study of settlement patterns. Adams was installed as Smithsonian Secretary on September 17, 1984, becoming the head of an Institution with thirteen museums, a National Zoo, and scientific and cultural research facilities in nine states and the Republic of Panama. As the successor to the dynamic S. Dillon Ripley, Adams sought to prepare the Institution for the 21st century, focus on scholarship, increase public programs, and emphasize a broader representation and involvement of diverse ethnic and cultural communities in the Smithsonian and its programs. Adams oversaw construction of the Quadrangle, a building project that brought together two museums and many disparate offices into a single structure, but he also sounded the alarm to the US Congress about the state of the Institution's aging infrastructure and began the systematic renovation of existing facilities. These “bricks and mortar” projects included renovation of the Freer Gallery, the construction of the Mathias Laboratory at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the Earl S. Tupper Research and Conference Center at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.