Michael McDonald is the National Endowment for the Humanities’ general counsel who has served as the agency’s acting chair since March 2025 and was nominated to be NEH chair in February 2026. His public NEH profile lists him as General Counsel based in NEH’s Office of the Chair; news reports confirm he assumed acting leadership after Shelly C. Lowe’s departure. (Detailed biographical résumé beyond NEH roles is not publicly listed on NEH’s staff page.)
The NEH Chair leads the agency, sets its priorities and policies, oversees NEH staff and programs, and is the primary official responsible for awarding and administering federal humanities grants and programs nationwide; the chair represents the agency to the President, Congress and the public.
In this notice 'vice Shelly C. Lowe' is a formal phrase meaning 'in place of Shelly C. Lowe'—i.e., McDonald’s nomination is to replace (succeed) Shelly C. Lowe as NEH Chair.
Presidential nominations for agency heads are reviewed by the Senate (usually by the relevant committee—in this case the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions), which holds hearings, votes to report the nomination to the full Senate, and then the full Senate votes to confirm or reject. Timing varies widely—from a few weeks to several months—depending on scheduling, whether the committee holds hearings, and political factors.
The NEH Chair’s statutory term is four years. The chair can leave earlier by resignation or removal; the president may designate an acting chair until a successor is nominated and confirmed. Reappointment or serving beyond a term requires a new presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.
NEH funds and oversees grants and programs for research, education and public programs in the humanities—supporting museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, universities, independent scholars, documentary and public-history projects, state humanities councils, and community humanities programming.