Smithsonian Director to Head Underground Railroad Center. (Washington)

Beginning of article

Spencer R. Crew, director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History for the past nine years, is ready to face the next phase of his career. He will be leaving the Smithsonian next month to become executive director and chief executive officer of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Crew, who began his Smithsonian career as an historian in 1981, has led the country's largest history museum since 1992 when he was named acting director. He was officially appointed director in 1994. Crew played a major role in developing the museum's major permanent exhibition, "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden," which opened last year, and in …