From Mail-Server@lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu  Sat Aug  7 21:33:09 1993
To: Clinton-News-Distribution@campaign92.org
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1993 21:39-0400
From: The White House <75300.3115@compuserve.com>
Subject: Alexander Appointed to Head NEA.  8/7/93

                         THE WHITE HOUSE

                  Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                             August 7, 1993

         PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES JANE ALEXANDER TO CHAIR
                 NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President Clinton today announced his 
nomination of award-winning actress, producer and author Jane 
Alexander as Chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts. 

     "The arts play an essential role in educating and enriching 
the lives of all Americans, and the National Endowment is 
integral to helping arts thrive throughout the country. The NEA 
helps enhance our children's learning, serves as an economic 
catalyst for local communities, and makes the arts a more 
accessible and vital part of people's everyday lives," said the 
President. 

     "The Endowment's mission of fostering and preserving our 
nation's cultural heritage is too important to remain mired in 
the problems of the past.  It is time to move forward and Jane 
Alexander is superbly qualified to lead the Endowment into a new 
era of excellence. Just as she has brought the power of 
performance to regional theaters throughout the country, she will 
be a tireless and articulate spokesperson for the value of 
bringing art into the lives of all Americans.

     "More than 30 years ago, President John F. Kennedy said, 'I 
see little of more importance to the future of our country and 
our civilization than full recognition of the place of the 
artist.' With those words as her challenge, I am confident Jane 
Alexander will work tirelessly and courageously to make the arts 
a full and productive partner in our nation's future," the 
President said. 

     Ms. Alexander currently stars in the hit Broadway play, 
Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig.  In addition to her 
Tony Award for The Great White Hope and Emmy Award for Playing 
for Time, Ms. Alexander has received five Tony Award nominations, 
four Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations.  
She has produced several films, narrated numerous documentaries, 
short stories, and books, and is the co-author of a translation 
of Henrik Ibsen's The Master Builder.

                              (more)

NEA Release
pg. 2

     Ms. Alexander is a forceful leader and able manager who has 
served as an effective advocate for a number of worthwhile 
causes, including the National Stroke Association, Women's Action 
for New Directions and the Wildlife Conservation Society.  In 
recognition of her leadership, she received the Living Legacy 
Award: Jehan Sadat Peace award in 1988.

     The NEA, created in 1965, is an independent federal agency 
whose mission is to foster and sustain the excellence, diversity 
and vitality of culture in the United States while broadening the 
availability of arts for all Americans.  
  

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