Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, announced on September 8 that he will retire at the end of 2026, concluding nearly 38 years of service to the world’s largest museum and research complex. Bunch, 73, is the first African American and the first historian to lead the Smithsonian, and his departure closes a career that spans the founding of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the addition of two new museums to the Smithsonian’s portfolio, and a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign that surpassed its target ahead of schedule.
Key Takeaways
- Lonnie G. Bunch III will retire as Smithsonian Secretary at the end of 2026 after serving in the role since June 2019 and working at the institution in various capacities since 1978.
- Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened on the National Mall in September 2016 after an 11-year development process; the museum has welcomed more than 13 million visitors since opening and will mark its 10th anniversary later this month.
- As secretary, Bunch oversaw 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, and multiple research centers; he also guided the addition of two new museums, the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
- Bunch launched a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign in 2024 that surpassed its target ahead of schedule, and led a digital transformation that proved critical during the pandemic years.
- Bunch has received France’s Legion of Honor, the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, the Dan David Prize, the Freedom Medal from the Roosevelt Institute, and more than 25 honorary doctorates.
- The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents will oversee the search for his successor.
A Career Built Across Five Decades of Museum Work
Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978 as an education specialist at the National Air and Space Museum. The position came two years after he began teaching as an adjunct lecturer at American University while completing his graduate studies. After leaving the Smithsonian in 1979, Bunch served as an assistant professor of American and Afro-American History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth from 1979 to 1981, then taught at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, until 1983. Bunch returned to the Smithsonian in the mid-1980s as a curator at the National Museum of American History, where he rose to associate director of curatorial affairs before departing again to serve as president of the Chicago Historical Society, now known as the Chicago History Museum.
That four-year stint at the Chicago Historical Society gave Bunch experience running a major independent museum, overseeing collections, programming, and institutional fundraising at a scale that prepared him for the next chapter. In 2005, the Smithsonian recruited Bunch back to Washington to lead the effort to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The assignment was enormous. When Bunch took the job, the museum had no building, no collection, no dedicated funding, and a staff of one. The idea of a national museum dedicated to African American history had circulated in Washington for nearly a century, dating back to proposals made by Black veterans returning from World War I.
Over the next 11 years, Bunch led the museum from concept through fundraising, architectural design, construction, and the curation of an inaugural collection. The museum raised $453 million under Bunch’s leadership, secured a prominent site on the National Mall, and oversaw the design of its distinctive bronze-clad building by architect David Adjaye. The NMAAHC opened on September 24, 2016, with 12 exhibitions. In its first three years, the museum welcomed more than five and a half million visitors, published 22 books, and received LEED Gold certification, a first for a building on the National Mall. By 2026, total attendance had surpassed 13 million.
The Secretary Role Brought New Museums, a Fundraising Record, and a Digital Transformation
The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents appointed Bunch as the institution’s 14th Secretary in June 2019, making him the first African American and first historian to hold the position in the Smithsonian’s then-173-year history. As secretary, Bunch oversaw 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, and nine research centers. The scope of the role placed him at the helm of an institution that receives more than 30 million visitors annually and maintains a collection of approximately 156 million objects, works of art, and specimens.
Two of Bunch’s signature accomplishments as secretary involved expanding the Smithsonian’s physical footprint. Under his leadership, Congress authorized and the Smithsonian advanced two new museums: the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino. In August 2026, the Smithsonian announced that the National Museum of the American Latino would take over the historic Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall as its permanent home, a significant milestone in the museum’s development.
Bunch also launched a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign in 2024, the most ambitious in the institution’s history. The campaign surpassed its target ahead of schedule, reflecting both the breadth of the Smithsonian’s donor base and the institutional credibility Bunch had built through the NMAAHC fundraising effort a decade earlier. The financial accomplishment sits alongside a digital transformation that Bunch initiated upon taking office. “We have the most amazing assets,” Bunch said in a 2019 interview with Smithsonian magazine. “How would we reinvent that in a world without bricks and mortar?” The digital-first strategy proved critical during the pandemic, when physical museums closed and American audiences turned to online exhibitions, virtual programming, and digital collections at record rates.
Bunch Built the NMAAHC from a Staff of One to a 13-Million-Visitor Landmark
The National Museum of African American History and Culture remains the defining achievement of Bunch’s career, and its story illustrates both the scale of the task and the patience it demanded. Proposals for a federally funded museum dedicated to African American history date to the early twentieth century. The idea appeared and reappeared over the decades, surviving rounds of legislative debate, funding shortfalls, and shifting political winds. Congress finally authorized the museum’s creation in 2003, but the authorization came without a building, a site, a budget, or a collection.
Bunch took the directorship in 2005 and spent the first several years assembling a team, traveling the country to collect artifacts, and building the case for both public and private funding. The collection effort was, by Bunch’s own description, a “fool’s errand” that required knocking on doors, visiting attics and basements, and persuading families to part with objects they had held for generations. Among the artifacts Bunch secured were Harriet Tubman’s shawl, a slave cabin from Edisto Island in South Carolina, a Pullman railcar, and a segregation-era guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The museum’s groundbreaking ceremony took place in 2012, and the building was completed in 2016.
Since opening, the NMAAHC has become one of the Smithsonian’s most visited museums and is consistently cited as a model for how history museums can engage the public with difficult subject matter. The museum will mark the 10th anniversary of its opening later in September 2026, less than three months before Bunch’s retirement takes effect.
The Retirement Announcement Arrives During a Period of External Scrutiny
Bunch’s announcement arrives during a period of heightened scrutiny of the Smithsonian from outside the institution. Over the past year, the institution’s approach to presenting American history has drawn public criticism from federal officials who have advocated for exhibits that emphasize patriotic narratives and reduce attention to subjects they view as divisive. In July 2026, a report issued from outside the institution criticized certain Smithsonian exhibitions and historical interpretations. Subsequent statements from federal officials indicated a desire for changes to institutional leadership and raised the possibility of withdrawing certain forms of federal support.
Bunch addressed the external pressures directly in interviews following his retirement announcement. “It was really just saying, now’s the time,” Bunch told The New York Times. “I’m a fighter.” Bunch told The Washington Post that he had been considering retirement for approximately a year. “For, I don’t know, 45 years, work has taken precedence over family, and I just said at 73, enough’s enough,” Bunch said. “There’s never a good time, but I think the key is I want to be able to have as many years as I can with the family and the grandkids.”
Throughout his career, Bunch has maintained that the Smithsonian’s role is to present history in its full complexity. “Every day, I have somebody talk to me about how important it is to have complexity and nuance,” Bunch said earlier in 2026. “The role of a museum is to define reality and to give hope.” Bunch’s published work reflects that philosophy. He has written more than a dozen books on African American history, the American presidency, and the museum profession, including A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama and Trump, published in 2019.
Bunch’s honors include France’s Legion of Honor, the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from Harvard University, the Dan David Prize, the Freedom Medal from the Roosevelt Institute, lifetime achievement awards from both the American Alliance of Museums and the African American Association of Museums, and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Bunch has received more than 25 honorary doctorates from universities across the country. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents will oversee the search for a successor. Additional details regarding the leadership transition are expected in the coming weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Will Lonnie Bunch’s Retirement Take Effect?
Bunch announced on September 8, 2026, that he will retire at the end of 2026. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents will oversee the search for his successor, with additional details on the leadership transition expected in the coming weeks.
What Is the National Museum of African American History and Culture?
The NMAAHC is the Smithsonian’s museum dedicated to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the museum opened in September 2016 after an 11-year development process led by founding director Lonnie Bunch. The museum has welcomed more than 13 million visitors since opening and will mark its 10th anniversary later in September 2026.
How Long Did Lonnie Bunch Work at the Smithsonian?
Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978 as an education specialist at the National Air and Space Museum. Over the following decades, he held roles at the National Museum of American History, left to lead the Chicago Historical Society, returned in 2005 to found the NMAAHC, and was appointed Secretary in 2019. His retirement concludes nearly 38 years of cumulative service to the institution.
