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April 10, 2008/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Marla Carpenter, 336-770-3337, carpem@ncarts.edu MAYA ANGELOU NAMED HONORARY MEMBER OF NCSA BOARD OF TRUSTEES
WINSTON-SALEM – Maya Angelou, hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman, has been appointed an honorary member of the North Carolina School of the Arts Board of Trustees. Her appointment, by NCSA Chancellor John Mauceri, was ratified yesterday by the NCSA Board of Trustees. Hers is the first of seven honorary trustee positions to be appointed to represent the areas of dance, design and production, drama, film, music, visual arts, and academic programs. Angelou will represent the area of academic programs. As such, she will provide a national perspective in the academic arena. “We are thrilled that Maya Angelou has joined our NCSA family,” said Chancellor Mauceri. “As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, dancer, singer, songwriter, playwright, civil-rights activist, and stage and screen producer and director, Dr. Angelou is the perfect choice to advise the School of the Arts on the relationship between the arts and academics. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration.” Angelou’s term is for two years.	Photo by Donald Dietz Maya Angelou and NCSA Chancellor John Mauceri at Mauceri’s installation at NCSA, April 3, 2007
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Mo., on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Ark. She is best-known for her autobiographical books: “A Song Flung Up to Heaven” (2002), “All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes” (1986), “The Heart of a Woman” (1981), “Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas” (1976), “Gather Together in My Name” (1974), and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award. Among her volumes of poetry are “A Brave and Startling Truth” (Random House, 1995), “The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou” (1994), “I Shall Not Be Moved” (1990), “Now Sheba Sings the Song” (1987), “Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?” (1983), “And Still I Rise” (1978), “Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well” (1975), and “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie” (1971), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her personal essays include “Even the Stars Look Lonesome” (1997) and “Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now” (1993). In 1959, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1961 to 1962 she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East, and from 1964 to 1966 she was feature editor of the African Review in Accra, Ghana. She returned to the United States in 1974 and was appointed by Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and later by Jimmy Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the Year. She accepted a lifetime appointment in 1981 as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1993, Angelou wrote and delivered a poem, "On The Pulse of the Morning," at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton at his request. The first black woman director in Hollywood, Angelou has written, produced, directed, and starred in productions for stage, film, and television. In 1971, she wrote the original screenplay and musical score for the film GEORGIA, GEORGIA, and was both author and executive producer of a five-part television miniseries, "Three Way Choice." She has also written and produced several prize-winning documentaries, including "Afro-Americans in the Arts," a PBS special for which she received the Golden Eagle Award. Maya Angelou was twice nominated for a Tony Award for acting: once for her Broadway debut in Look Away (1973), and again for her performance in Roots (1977). The North Carolina School of the Arts, located in Winston-Salem (“The City of the Arts”), was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA opened in Winston-Salem in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. The North Carolina School of the Arts is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. The chancellor, deans, and faculty work with students in a residential setting to create an educational community that is intimate, demanding, and performance-centered. Learning is enriched by access to an academic program responsive to a conservatory curriculum. Founded to be both an educational institution and a resource enhancing the cultural life of the state of North Carolina and the Southeast, NCSA offers numerous public performances, on- and off-campus, as well as community education in the arts. ###
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April 10, 2008/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marla Carpenter, 336-770-3337, carpem@ncarts.edu

MAYA ANGELOU NAMED HONORARY MEMBER
OF NCSA BOARD OF TRUSTEES

WINSTON-SALEM – Maya Angelou, hailed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a remarkable Renaissance woman, has been appointed an honorary member of the North Carolina School of the Arts Board of Trustees.

Her appointment, by NCSA Chancellor John Mauceri, was ratified yesterday by the NCSA Board of Trustees. Hers is the first of seven honorary trustee positions to be appointed to represent the areas of dance, design and production, drama, film, music, visual arts, and academic programs. Angelou will represent the area of academic programs. As such, she will provide a national perspective in the academic arena.

“We are thrilled that Maya Angelou has joined our NCSA family,” said Chancellor Mauceri. “As a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, dancer, singer, songwriter, playwright, civil-rights activist, and stage and screen producer and director, Dr. Angelou is the perfect choice to advise the School of the Arts on the relationship between the arts and academics. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration.”

Angelou’s term is for two years.

Photo by Donald Dietz

Maya Angelou and NCSA Chancellor John Mauceri at Mauceri’s installation at NCSA, April 3, 2007

Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Mo., on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Ark. She is best-known for her autobiographical books: “A Song Flung Up to Heaven” (2002), “All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes” (1986), “The Heart of a Woman” (1981), “Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas” (1976), “Gather Together in My Name” (1974), and “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” (1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award.

Among her volumes of poetry are “A Brave and Startling Truth” (Random House, 1995), “The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou” (1994), “I Shall Not Be Moved” (1990), “Now Sheba Sings the Song” (1987), “Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?” (1983), “And Still I Rise” (1978), “Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well” (1975), and “Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie” (1971), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Her personal essays include “Even the Stars Look Lonesome” (1997) and “Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now” (1993).

In 1959, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1961 to 1962 she was associate editor of The Arab Observer in Cairo, Egypt, the only English-language news weekly in the Middle East, and from 1964 to 1966 she was feature editor of the African Review in Accra, Ghana. She returned to the United States in 1974 and was appointed by Gerald Ford to the Bicentennial Commission and later by Jimmy Carter to the Commission for International Woman of the Year.

She accepted a lifetime appointment in 1981 as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1993, Angelou wrote and delivered a poem, "On The Pulse of the Morning," at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton at his request.

The first black woman director in Hollywood, Angelou has written, produced, directed, and starred in productions for stage, film, and television. In 1971, she wrote the original screenplay and musical score for the film GEORGIA, GEORGIA, and was both author and executive producer of a five-part television miniseries, "Three Way Choice." She has also written and produced several prize-winning documentaries, including "Afro-Americans in the Arts," a PBS special for which she received the Golden Eagle Award. Maya Angelou was twice nominated for a Tony Award for acting: once for her Broadway debut in Look Away (1973), and again for her performance in Roots (1977).

The North Carolina School of the Arts, located in Winston-Salem (“The City of the Arts”), was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA opened in Winston-Salem in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. The North Carolina School of the Arts is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. The chancellor, deans, and faculty work with students in a residential setting to create an educational community that is intimate, demanding, and performance-centered. Learning is enriched by access to an academic program responsive to a conservatory curriculum. Founded to be both an educational institution and a resource enhancing the cultural life of the state of North Carolina and the Southeast, NCSA offers numerous public performances, on- and off-campus, as well as community education in the arts.

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