President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his picks to head the National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts, tapping a Harvard University scholar and an Arizona State University professor to oversee the federal agencies.
If confirmed by the Senate, Shelly Lowe, who is the executive director of Harvard University’s Native American program, will be the nation’s first Native American to serve as chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Ganado, Arizona.
Maria Rosario Jackson, if confirmed, will be the first African American and Mexican American to serve as chairperson for the National Endowment for the Arts. Jackson is a professor at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State, where she also holds an appointment in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions.
