THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 12, 2000
PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES SEVEN MEMBERS TO THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON THE
HUMANITIES
The President today announced his intent to nominate Nina Archabal,
Betty Bengtson, Ron Chew, Henry Glassie, Mary Hubbard, Naomi Shihab Nye and
Vicki Ruiz as members of the National Council on the Humanities.
Dr. Nina M. Archabal, of St. Paul, Minnesota, has been with the
Minnesota Historical Society since 1977, and has served as its Director and
State Historic Preservation Officer since 1987. She is currently on the
Board of Overseers at Harvard College. Dr. Archabal is a former Chair of
the American Association of Museums and was a member of the Board of
Directors of the American Folklife Center. In 1997, President Clinton
awarded her the National Humanities Medal. Dr. Archabal received a B.A.
from Radcliffe College, a M.A.T. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from
the University of Minnesota.
Ms. Betty G. Bengtson, of Seattle, Washington, has held the post of
Director of University Libraries at the University of Washington since
1990. Earlier, she was associated with the libraries at the University of
Tennessee and Georgetown University. Additionally, Ms. Bengtson has
served in a number of capacities with the Library and Information
Technology Association, the Washington Library Association, the Council on
Library and Information Resources and the Association of Research
Libraries, to include serving as President of the latter group 1998-99.
Ms. Bengtson received a B.A. from Duke University, and Master?s Degrees
from Catholic University of America and the University of Maryland.
Mr. Ron Chew, of Seattle, Washington, has been the Executive Director
of the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle since 1991. Earlier, he served as
Administrative Coordinator of the Washington State Commission on Asian
Pacific American Affairs. While at Wing Luke Museum, Mr. Chew has been
Exhibition Writer for a number of museum projects, including ?Renewal of
America: Voices of Recent Asian Pacific Immigrants? and ?20 Years After the
Fall of Saigon: The Vietnamese American Story?. He is also a Board Member
of the Seattle Public Library Foundation and serves on the Advisory Board
of the Museum Loan Network. Mr. Chew has received a number of awards,
including the Governor?s Heritage Award from the Washington State Arts
Commission and the Distinguished Service Award from the National
Association of Asian American Studies. He studied Editorial Journalism at
the University of Washington School of Communications.
Dr. Henry Glassie, of Bloomington, Indiana, has served as College
Professor of Folklore and Co-Director, Turkish Studies at Indiana
University since 1988. Previously, he was Chair of the Department of
Folklore and Folklife and Professor of Folklore and American Civilization
at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Glassie served as President of the
American Folklore Society from 1988-1990. Dr. Glassie is widely published
and among his recent books are Irish Folktales, The Spirit of Folk Art,
Turkish Traditional Art Today, The Potter?s Art and Art and Life in
Bangladesh. For this latter work he received the Certificate of Honor from
the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the People?s Republic of Bangladesh.
Dr. Glassie received a B.A. from Tulane University, an M.A. from the State
University of New York at Oneonta and a Ph.D. from the University of
Pennsylvania.
Ms. Mary D. Hubbard, of Birmingham, Alabama, is currently an English
teacher at Mountain Brook High School. Last year she received the biennial
"Teacher of Merit Award" from the Alabama Association of Historians. She
is a member of the Alabama Council of Teachers of English, the National
Council for Social Studies Teachers, the Alabama Association of Historians
and the National Council for History Education. Ms. Hubbard received a
B.A. in English and History from Washington University, St. Louis and an
M.A. in Gifted Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Ms. Naomi Shihab Nye, of San Antonio, Texas, is a poet, essayist,
anthologist and author of children?s books. Among her books of poems are
Hugging the Jukebox, Red Suitcase and Fuel. Her books for young readers
include Habibi and Sitti?s Secrets. She has traveled to the Middle East
and Asia for the United States Information Agency promoting international
goodwill through the arts. Ms. Nye has received numerous awards for her
work including the Award for Contribution to Literature at the
American-Arab Convention on Anti-Discrimination, four Pushcart Prizes, two
Jane Addams Children?s Book Awards and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her work
has also been featured on PBS?s ?The Language of Life with Bill Moyers? and
National Public Radio?s All Things Considered. She received her B.A. from
Trinity University in San Antonio.
Dr. Vicki L. Ruiz, of Tempe, Arizona, is Professor of History and
Chicana/Chicano Studies and Chair of the Department of Chicana/Chicano
Studies at Arizona State University. She is widely published and among her
books are Cannery Women, Cannery Lives: Mexican Women, Unionization and the
California Food Processing Industry, 1930-1950 and From Out of the Shadows:
Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. For this latter work she
received an award as the Outstanding Academic Book of 1998 from the
American Library Association. Dr. Ruiz is a member of the national
advisory boards of The Museum of Women - The Leadership Center, New York
the National Women?s History Project and the American Historical
Association. She received a B.S from Florida State University and an A.M.
and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.
The National Council on the Humanities is responsible for advising the
Chair with respect to the policies, programs and procedures necessary for
the operation of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In addition,
the Council reviews applications for the awarding of grants and makes
recommendations to the Chair. Staff support and funding for the council
are provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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