THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

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.

30-30-30