Wedding dress dispute forces head of NYC's Cooper Hewitt to resign
Baumann was forced to resign as director of the Cooper Hewitt [...] following an investigation by the Smithsonian’s inspector general into potential problems regarding the procurement of [a wedding] dress and the wedding space. Her resignation was made public on Feb. 7, without explanation [...]. Two people with knowledge of the Smithsonian’s decision making [...]said that the investigation had turned up evidence of an appearance of a conflict of interest.
Robin Pogrebin of The New York Times delves into the circumstances surrounding the abrupt resignation of Caroline Baumann, the director of the Cooper Hewit Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.
The museum is partially funded by the federal government and for that reason is subject to strict ethical oversight. At the heart of the matter is whether Baumann inappropriately received a discounted price for a dress she wore to her wedding and whether the use of Copper Hewitt spaces was traded in exchange for Baumann's use of the privately-held facilities where the wedding took place.
