CAA News Today

Michael Hammond, currently dean of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Tex., has been selected by President Bush to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Hammond was educated at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc., and Delhi University in India and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. He has earned degrees in philosophy, psychology, and physiology. As a composer and conductor, Hammond has written numerous scores for theater in the United States and abroad. His interests include the music of Southeast Asia, Western medieval and Renaissance music, and the relationships between music and the brain.

His nomination will be sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.