Appointment for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

The President today announced he is revitalizing the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and intends to name Dr. John Brademas to chair the Committee. The President also announced his intention to name 32 private citizens to serve as members of the Committee, and he announced that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will serve as Honorary Chair.

In making these appointments the President said, "The Federal, State, and local governments together provide only a small percentage of the support essential to our cultural life. These appointments underscore the vital partnership between the government and the private citizens who do so much to enrich and preserve the arts and humanities in our country. I am pleased that John Brademas, who has been a vigorous champion of learning and culture both in Congress and as a university president, has agreed to chair the Committee. At a time when our society faces new and profound challenges, when we are losing so many of our children, and when so many people feel insecure in the face of change, the arts and the humanities are fundamental to our lives as individuals and as a nation."