Irene Hirano, 47, the president and executive director of the Japanese American National Museum, has been appointed to a presidential committee that studies and promotes public arts and humanities programs.
The Committee on the Arts and Humanities comprises a diverse group of artists, scholars, writers, business leaders and community activists--including music producer Quincy Jones and "M. Butterfly" playwright David Henry Hwang.
"The President wanted to assure that there was good ethnic diversity on the committee, and so hopefully I can bring my experience as a Japanese American and as an Asian American to the deliberations that the committee will undertake," Hirano said.
During the group's first meeting Sept. 21, Clinton asked that members report in a year on the status of America's cultural life, whether programs nationwide have made any strides in bridging cultural and ethnic differences.
