CLEVELAND -- The U. S. Senate has confirmed the appointment of Bruce Cole, a 1962 graduate of what is now Case Western Reserve University, as the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Senate confirmation came Friday, September 14.

Cole now has the task of preserving America's historical and cultural heritage during his four-year term. He succeeds William Ferris, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997.

President George W. Bush announced his selection of Cole in June. Cole now moves to Washington, D.C., to oversee a $120 million budget that provides funding for scholarly research and preservation of important American documents.

Cole has had prior experiences with the NEH, as a member of the National Council on the Humanities. The current president's father appointed Cole to the board in April 1992, and the U.S. Senate confirmed that appointment in July 1992.

Prior to his NEH appointment, Cole was the Distinguished Professor in the Henry Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University. He joined the IU faculty in 1973 as an Italian Renaissance art historian.

After receiving his B.A. in history from WRU, Cole earned his M.A. in art history from Oberlin College in 1964 and his Ph.D. in 1969 from Bryn Mawr College.

He has had numerous fellowships and grants, among which are to the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Scholars, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Kress Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Cole has published 12 books mostly about the Italian Renaissance. A collection of his articles and writings appears in the book Studies in Italian Art 1250-1550.