The chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is the executive leader of the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency created in 1965. The chair directs the NEH and is the sole position in the agency with the legal authority to make grants and awards. The NEH chair is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The appointment and term of the chair are statutorily defined in 20 U.S.C. § 956(b), and the chair's authority is defined throughout 20 U.S.C. § 956. The National Council on the Humanities, a board of 26 private citizens who are also appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, advises the chair.
List of chairpersons
Barnaby Keeney, 1963–1965, Chair of National Commission on the Humanities
Henry Allen Moe, Interim, 1965–66
Barnaby Keeney, 1966–1970
Wallace Edgerton, Acting, 1970–71
Ronald Berman, 1971–1977
Robert Kingston, Acting, 1977
Joseph Duffey, 1977–81
William J. Bennett, 1981–85
John Agresto, Acting, 1985
Lynne Cheney, 1986–1993
Jerry L. Martin, Acting, 1993
Donald Gibson, Acting, 1993
Sheldon Hackney, 1993–97
Bruce A. Lehman, Acting, 1997
William R. Ferris, 1997–2001
Bruce Cole, 2001–2009
Carole Watson, Acting, 2009
Jim Leach, 2009–2013
Carole Watson, Acting, 2013–2014
William 'Bro' Adams, 2014–2017
Margaret "Peggy" Plympton, Acting, 2017–2018
Jon Parrish Peede, 2018–2021
Adam Wolfson, Acting, 2021–2022
Shelly Lowe, 2022–2025
Michael Patrick McDonald (born 1956), Acting, 2025–2026; then 2026–present