President George W. Bush recently announced his intention to nominate Michael P. Hammond as the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Hammond would replace Bill Ivey, who resigned as chairman on September 30, eight months before the end of his four-year term.
It is not known when President Bush will make the official nomination. According to an NEA publicist, Hammond is "still working with the White House to provide the necessary paperwork."
A composer and conductor, Hammond is currently Dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas.
