Professor confirmed to NEH post

IU Distinguished Professor Bruce M. Cole was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. \nA highly regarded historian and distinguished professor in the Henry Hope School of Fine Arts, Cole served on the National Council on the Humanities from 1992 to 1999.\n"I am doubly honored to have been nominated by President (George W.) Bush and confirmed by the Senate," Cole said in a statement. "... I am eager to participate in the Endowment's vital work of the study, preservation and dissemination of the humanities to all our citizens."\nIU President Myles Brand said the appointment speaks volumes about the role the University's faculty plays in academic affairs nationally.\n"He's an outstanding representative of the quality of IU's faculty and of our tradition of leadership in the arts and humanities," Brand said in the release.\nCole is the second person in three years with ties to IU to head a major federal organization in the arts and humanities. \nWilliam J. Ivey, an alumnus, has been chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts since May 1998.\nFor full coverage of Professor Cole's appointment, read tomorrow's IDS.