Oklahoman Named Acting Director Of Smithsonian's Natural History Museum

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Paul Risser of the University of Oklahoma is now acting director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He replaces museum director Cristian Samper who was named

Friday, March 30th 2007, 1:30 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Paul Risser of the University of Oklahoma is now acting director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. He replaces museum director Cristian Samper who was named acting secretary of the Smithsonian following the resignation of Lawrence Small last week.

Risser is the chair of the OU Research Cabinet and coordinates and facilitates research across the university's three campuses. He also heads the science committee at the museum and is a former chancellor for higher education in Oklahoma.