View all text of Subchapter I [§ 2101 - § 2107]
§ 2103. American Folklife Center
(a) Establishment
(b) Board of Trustees; composition; regional balance
(1) The Center shall be under the direction of a Board of Trustees. The Board shall be composed as follows:
(A) four members appointed by the President from among individuals who are officials of Federal departments and agencies concerned with some aspect of American Folklife traditions and arts;
(B) four members appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate from among individuals from private life who are widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship, experience, creativity, or interest in American Folklife traditions and arts, and four members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from among such individuals;
(C) four members appointed by the Librarian of Congress from among individuals who are widely recognized by virtue of their scholarship, experience, creativity, or interest in American folklife traditions and arts; and
(D) nine ex officio members including—
(i) the Librarian of Congress;
(ii) the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution;
(iii) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts;
(iv) the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities;
(v) the President of the American Folklore Society;
(vi) the President of the Society for Ethnomusicology;
(vii) the Director of the Center;
(viii) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and
(ix) the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
(2) In making appointments from private life under paragraph (1)(B) and (C), the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Librarian of Congress shall give due consideration to the appointment of individuals who collectively will provide appropriate diversity and regional balance on the Board. Not more than three of the members appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate or by the Speaker of the House of Representatives may be affiliated with the same political party.
(3) In making appointments under paragraph (1)(C), the Librarian of Congress shall include at least two members who direct or are members of the boards of major American folklife organizations other than the American Folklore Society and the Society for Ethnomusicology.
(c) Term of office
(d) Reimbursement for expenses
(e) Chairman; Vice Chairman; election; vacancies; quorum; annual meeting
(1) The Librarian shall call the first meeting of the Board, at which the first order of business shall be the election of a Chairman and a Vice Chairman, who shall serve for a term of one year. Thereafter each Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected for a term of two years. The Vice Chairman shall perform the duties of the Chairman in his absence. In case of a vacancy occurring in the chairmanship or vice-chairmanship, the Board shall elect a member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(2) A majority of the members of the Board currently serving shall constitute a quorum.
(3) The Board shall meet at least once each fiscal year.
(f) Director; appointment and compensation
(g) Duties of Director
(Pub. L. 94–201, § 4, Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1130; Pub. L. 95–259, § 2, Apr. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 196; Pub. L. 105–275, title III, § 312(b)(1), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2458; Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XIV, § 1402, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3206.)