Last modified: Thursday, August 15, 2013
Distinguished professor emeritus Bruce Cole recommended for national Eisenhower Memorial Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 15, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- President Barack Obama has announced his intention to appoint distinguished professor emeritus and former Indiana University trustee Bruce Cole as a member of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission.
The commission's mission is to complete a national memorial to honor Eisenhower, commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and the 34th president of the United States, as well as inspire future generations by highlighting Eisenhower's leadership, integrity, lifelong work ethic and devotion to public service and the values and processes of democracy.
"We at Indiana University are extremely proud of Bruce and his myriad accomplishments and service to the university, and congratulate him on this great honor," IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. "A distinguished scholar of Renaissance art, Bruce was the first IU faculty member to be appointed to the Indiana University Board of Trustees in modern times, and he is also a recipient of the President's Medal for Excellence, the highest honor my office can bestow. He is sure to bring to this new national post the same measure of dedication as well as the deep and broad knowledge of art and architecture that he has brought to many of his endeavors as an educator and public servant -- one who is passionate about preserving our nation's history and culture."
Cole, distinguished professor emeritus of art history and comparative literature in Indiana University Bloomington's College of Arts and Sciences, is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
From 2011 to 2012, he was a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, and from 2009 to 2011, he was president and CEO of the American Revolution Center in Philadelphia.
Cole served as chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities from 2001 to 2009, the longest-serving chairman in the history of the endowment. He is on the boards of American Heritage, the Jack Miller Center and the Villa Firenze Foundation, and is a former member of the Indiana University Board of Trustees. In 2008, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal and also was decorated as a Knight of the Grand Cross, the highest honor of the Republic of Italy.
He received a Bachelor of Arts from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Arts from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.
