Shelly Lowe

Shelly C. Lowe is an American academic administrator serving as the chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Shelly Lowe
Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Incumbent
Assumed office February 14, 2022
President	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Jon Parrish Peede
Member of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Incumbent
Assumed office 2015
President	Barack Obama Donald Trump Joe Biden
Personal details
Born	1974 or 1975 (age 49–50)
Education	University of Arizona (BA, MA)

Early life and education

Lowe is a citizen of the Navajo Nation and grew up on the central part of the reservation in Ganado, Arizona.^[1][2][3] Lowe graduated from Ganado High School and was awarded a full-ride four-year Flinn Scholarship.^[4] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and Master of Arts in Native American studies from the University of Arizona.^[5]

Career

Lowe has worked as executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program, assistant dean of Yale College, director of the Yale University Native American Cultural Center, and graduate program facilitator of the American Indian Studies program at the University of Arizona.^[3] She was appointed to serve as a member of the National Endowment for the Humanities by President Barack Obama in 2015 and as chair of the NEH by President Joe Biden in 2021.^[6][7] She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 2, 2022,^[8] and sworn into office on February 14.^[9] She is the first Native American to head the NEH.^[1]

Selected publications

• Waterman, Stephanie J.; Lowe, Shelly C.; Shotton, Heather J. (2018). Beyond Access: Indigenizing Programs for Native American Student Success. ISBN 9781620362884. OCLC 1036726367.
• Shotton, Heather J.; Lowe, Shelly C.; Waterman, Stephanie J. (2013). Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education. ISBN 9781579226244. OCLC 903293330.
• Serving Native American students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2005. ISBN 9780787979713. OCLC 58843943.

References

1. McGlone, Peggy (February 25, 2022). "First Native American to lead National Endowment for the Humanities says the agency can strengthen democracy". Washington Post. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
2. Shepherd, Becca; Hopkins, John Christian (February 11, 2022). "Navajo Nation Member Shelly Lowe to be Appointed to Lead National Endowment for the Humanities". Lake Powell Life. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
3. "Shelly Lowe". hunap.harvard.edu. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
4. Resnik, Brahm (October 6, 2021). "Biden nominates Navajo woman from Arizona as first Native American to lead National Endowment for the Humanities". 12news.com.
5. "President Biden Announces Intent to Nominate Chairs of National Endowments for the Humanities and Arts". The White House (Press release). October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
6. "Shelly C. Lowe". The National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
7. Blair, Elizabeth (October 5, 2021). "Here are the White House's picks to lead the National Arts and Humanities Endowments". NPR. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
8. "PN1258 — Shelly C. Lowe — National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
9. National Endowment for the Humanities [@NEHgov] (February 14, 2022). "Today, Navajo Nation citizen Shelly C. Lowe was sworn in as the 12th Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities" (Tweet). Retrieved February 21, 2022 – via Twitter.