PRINTThe National Endowment for the Humanities is headed by a chairman who is appointed for a four-year term by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Since the creation of the NEH in 1965, nine chairmen have directed the agency.
| Aug. 2009 to present | James A. Leach |
| nominated by Barack Obama | |
| Dec. 2001 to Jan. 2009 | Bruce Cole |
| nominated by George W. Bush | |
| Nov. 1997 to Nov. 2001 | William R. Ferris |
| nominated by Bill Clinton | |
| Aug. 1993 to Aug. 1997 | Sheldon Hackney |
| nominated by Bill Clinton | |
| May 1986 to Jan. 1993 | Lynne V. Cheney |
| nominated by Ronald Reagan | |
| Dec. 1981 to Feb. 1985 | William J. Bennett |
| nominated by Ronald Reagan | |
| Oct. 1977 to Dec. 1981 | Joseph D. Duffey |
| nominated by Jimmy Carter | |
| Dec. 1971 to Jan. 1977 | Ronald S. Berman |
| nominated by Richard Nixon | |
| July 1966 to June 1970 | Barnaby C. Keeney |
| nominated by Lyndon Johnson | |
| September 1965 | Establishment of the NEH |
| under Lyndon Johnson |