MMS director resigns

Cynthia Quarterman, director of the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service, announced her resignation from federal service Dec. 16. Quarterman was appointed by President Clinton in 1993 as deputy director of MMS and appointed director in March 1995. Her resignation becomes effective February 1999.

“Ms. Quarterman has ably served the president, the department and the American people with professionalism and a deep commitment for efficiency in government,” said Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt in a statement.

Quarterman streamlined MMS operations and cut costs and under her leadership the agency won the Vice President’s Hammer Award for Innovation.

“My experiences here have been the most fulfilling and fascinating in my professional life,” Quarterman noted in a letter to Babbitt. “I have been privileged to work with a team of gifted federal employees, devoted to safeguarding the nation’s mineral resources.”

Quarterman has no immediate plans for the future.