MANCHESTER, NH – The New Hampshire Institute of Art will welcome National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu as 2017 commencement speaker. Chu has a deep understanding of and commitment to the arts, and has long been an advocate for the transformative potential of the arts in communities across America.
“We’re honored to have Chairman Chu address our graduates and their families from across the nation,” said NHIA president Kent Devereaux. “Her commitment on behalf of the arts and the role they play in fostering a vibrant, creative, and healthy democracy is unquestioned, and the life lessons she can share with our students from her unique perspective as the child of immigrant parents who has risen to a position of national prominence will be invaluable.”
Chu will also receive an honorary doctorate at the commencement ceremony, which will take place at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., in Manchester, on Sunday, May 21 at 2 p.m.
“I’m honored to participate in the New Hampshire Institute of Art’s commencement,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “This will be a time to celebrate the future roles that these graduates will play in connecting the arts to individuals and communities, as a result of their education.”
This year’s commencement will represent the third year in the college’s 119-year history that the New Hampshire Institute of Art confers graduate degrees on students from its Master of Fine Arts (MFA) and Master of Art in Art Education (MAAE.) programs participating in the ceremony in addition to almost 100 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students.
Chu is the eleventh chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Chu was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and raised in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She studied music growing up, and received bachelor’s degrees in piano performance and music education from Ouachita Baptist University, and master’s degrees in music and piano pedagogy from Southern Methodist University. Additionally, Chu holds a master’s degree in business administration from Rockhurst University and a PhD in philanthropic studies from Indiana University.
The New Hampshire Institute of Art is the oldest and largest non-profit arts institution in New Hampshire, founded in 1898 and today offering undergraduate (BFA, Dual Degree BFA/MAT), graduate (MFA, MAAE, MAT), and community education programs (Youth Arts, Pre-College, Community Education, and Professional Development) serving almost 2,000 students annually on campuses in Manchester and Sharon/Peterborough, New Hampshire.
