COURTESY OF FELICE KAUFMANN
Above: Pianist Lorin Hollander performs for the 1979 Presidential Scholars. Later that year, President Jimmy Carter enacted Executive Order 12158, which provided for the annual selection of 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Right: The Advisors for the 1983 National Recognition Week. Chief Advisor David Sheldon is in the center of the second row. Future The Wire star Wendell Pierce is kneeling in front.
Sept. 18, 1979: Carter enacts
Executive Order 12158, providing for the selection of 20 Presidential Scholars “on the basis of outstanding scholarship and demonstrated ability and accomplishment in the visual and performing arts or in creative writing.”
COURTESY OF JOHN KNOX
1980:
January 1983: The National
The first class of Scholars in the Arts is selected, and a compendium of Scholars’ essays, poems, and musical compositions is published following a performance by the Scholars in the National Academy of Sciences auditorium.
Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA), now YoungArts, takes over the role of ETS in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search leading to the selection of Arts Scholars. NFAA/YoungArts becomes a primary supporter of the program.
Aug. 30, 1982:
The first fulltime, year-round Executive Director, Gary Stember, is appointed.
April 1983:
The Commission approves the concept, developed by 1983 Chief Advisor David Sheldon (1981, NH), of giving each Scholar the opportunity to
identify a teacher who most contributed to the Scholar’s education. The Distinguished Teacher Award, later renamed the Teacher Recognition Award, begins with the 1983 Scholars, and continues for the next 30 years.
June 1984:
On the 20th anniversary of the Presidential Scholars Program, one Scholar from each of the preceding years is invited back to participate in some of the National Recognition Week events. Included in this group are Jacquelyn Evans (1964, AR), a
45 50 YEARS OF U.S. PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS
In Pursuit of Excellence