WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 -- The National Endowment for the Arts issued the following news release: It is with great sadness that the National Endowment for the Arts acknowledges the passing of former National Council on the Arts member and National Medal of Arts recipient James Earl Jones. Long before he was the voice of Star Wars' Darth Vader and The Lion King's Mufasa, Jones was an acclaimed actor of stage and screen. One of the NEA's early grants was an award to Arena Stage in 1967 to support t more PR

SANTA MONICA, California, Sept. 11 -- The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching issued the following news release: It is with a heavy heart that the entire NIET community mourns the loss of Dr. Ted Sanders, who served as a beacon for quality education on federal, state, and local levels. Dr. Sanders passed away on September 8, 2024. He is remembered as an esteemed leader in the national education community, as well as a longtime board member and treasured colleague to all of us at NIET. more PR