William James Ivey

Bill Ivey, an influential folklorist, cultural policy leader, and advocate for the arts who served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under President Bill Clinton, passed away on November 7, 2025. He was 81.

Born September 6, 1944, in Detroit, Michigan, Ivey dedicated his life to celebrating and preserving America’s expressive traditions. After studying American history at the University of Michigan and earning a master’s in folklore and ethnomusicology from Indiana University, he became the first full-time director of the Country Music Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, positions he held from 1971 to 1998. He transformed the institution from a small tourist attraction to the premier center for the study and preservation of country music. Throughout his career, Ivey shaped national conversations about art, culture and public policy. He twice served as chairman of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was appointed by President Clinton to chair the NEA from 1998 to 2001—where his “Challenge America” initiative helped restore bipartisan confidence in the agency—and later founded and led the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University. He also served as an advisor to President Barack Obama’s transition team in 2008.

An author and public thinker, Ivey wrote Arts, Inc.: How Greed and Neglect Have Destroyed Our Cultural Rights and Handmaking America: A Back-to-Basics Pathway to a Revitalized American Democracy, among other works. His writing and lectures championed the idea of “expressive life,” a term he coined to describe the vital role of creativity and heritage in human fulfillment. His books and writing pushed arts leaders to look beyond the nonprofit arts – museums, orchestras and theaters – to consider the full spectrum of human creative expression, from crafts and cooking to amateur artmaking and commercial music, film, and publishing. He also challenged leaders in Washington and the creative industries to get beyond narrow economic measures of wellbeing and take expressive life seriously as an arena for policy.

Bill Ivey’s leadership, generosity, and vision for a culturally vibrant America inspired countless artists, scholars, and policymakers.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Bill was a man of boundless curiosity, wit, and kindness. He loved deep conversations, good coffee, and the company of friends and family. His lifelong passions included aviation, the guitar, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Bill is survived by his long-term love of 18 years, Susan Keffer; her children, Kelly Keffer and Ben (Whitney) Keffer; their children, Finn and Kendrick; his sister, Mary Del Signore; his nephew, Gabe Del Signore and a wide community of colleagues and friends who will remember him for his warmth, intellect, and lifelong dedication to the arts. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Grace and William Ivey of Calumet, MI and his brother-in-law, Charlie Del Signore.

A celebration of life will be held in Nashville at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to Crossroads Campus and the Country Music Hall of Fame.