Posted on May 16, 2001 at 10:50 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — W. Richard West, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), will be the commencement speaker and receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the 2 p.m. June 10 graduation ceremonies at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Bartow Arena. Some 2,000 UAB students will graduate this spring.

West, attorney and member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, has devoted his professional life and much of his personal life to working with American Indians on cultural, educational, legal and governmental issues. As NMAI director, West is responsible for guiding the successful opening of the three facilities that will comprise the museum. He oversaw the creation and completion of the George Gustav Heye Center, the museum’s exhibition facility that opened in New York City on Oct. 30, 1994. He continues to supervise the overall planning of the museum’s Cultural Resources Center, home of the NMAI’s vast 800,000 object collection, which opened its doors in Suitland, Maryland in 1999. His philosophy and vision have been critical in guiding the architectural planning of the third component of the project, the Mall Museum, scheduled to open in 2004 on the last available site on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Under West’s direction, programming for all three facilities has included the establishment of policies regarding collections, exhibitions, research, publications, and the repatriation of sacred and ceremonial objects. West also has played a key role in guiding the philosophy of the “Fourth Museum,” a community outreach program giving millions of people worldwide the opportunity to experience the museum’s collection, photo archives, exhibitions and public programs.

West also devotes considerable time and energy to the museum’s fund-raising efforts. As part of the 1989 legislation establishing the National Museum of the American Indian, it was mandated by Congress that one-third of the construction costs of the Mall Museum be raised from non-federal sources. The total cost of the Mall Museum was estimated to be $110 million. The first part of the fund-raising goal was realized on Sept. 30, 1996, the date by which $36.7 million was raised for construction. West continues to oversee the fund-raising campaign for the museum, which will provide for additional construction, an endowment, and ongoing educational and outreach programs.

Before becoming NMAI director on June 1, 1990, West was a partner in the Indian-owned Albuquerque law firm of Gover, Stetson, Williams & West, P.C., where he was general counsel and special counsel to numerous Indian tribes and organizations. Prior to that, he was an associate attorney (1973-1979) and partner (1979-1988) in the Indian and Corporate Departments of the Washington, D.C., office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. In both firms, West represented Indian tribes before the U.S. Supreme Court.

West, who grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was born in San Bernardino, California, on Jan. 6, 1943, son of the late American Indian master artist Walter Richard West Sr. and Maribelle McCrea West. In 1965, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history, Magna Cum Laude, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Redlands in California. He also received a master’s degree in American History from Harvard University in 1968. In 1972, West earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the Stanford University School of Law, where he earned the Hilmer Oehlmann Jr. Prize for excellence in legal writing and was editor of the Stanford Law Review.

West’s numerous other affiliations and memberships include the American Indian Resources Institute, The Winslow Foundation and the National Support Committee of the Native American Rights Fund. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Ford Foundation, University of Redlands and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He also is a member of the board of directors of the Bush Foundation.