President Bush has nominated Carol M. Swain, Vanderbilt professor of political science and law, to the National Council on the Humanities, the White House announced. The appointment, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate later this month, is for a six-year term.
The council is the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Humanities. NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.
Professor Swain, whose area of academic interest centers on race relations and representation, immigration and black leadership, was appointed in 2007 to the Tennessee Advisory Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
A political independent, Professor Swain teaches a course on Race, Gender and Representation in the Political Process at Vanderbilt Law School, among other classes, and directs the Veritas Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. She recently edited a book of essays called Debating Immigration, published by Cambridge University Press.
– Jennifer Plant Johnston, Vanderbilt University Public Affairs