President Barack Obama has appointed Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, as commissioner of the Council of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization.

The president also intends to nominate Dr. William “Bro” Adams, president of Colby College, to serve as the next Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“We applaud the president’s selection of Patrick and Bro for these important positions,” said Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement. “Both are demonstrated leaders in their respective fields whose work in Maine has made a significant and positive difference across our state. We join with the people of Maine in congratulating them and we certainly look forward to continuing our work with them in the future.”

Keliher is the current commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources in the State of Maine, a position he has held since 2011. The North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization is an international organization, established by an inter-governmental convention in 1984 with the mission of conserving, restoring, enhancing and rationally managing Atlantic salmon through international cooperation and the best available scientific information.

Adams is president of Colby College, a position he has held since 2000. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965 to promote humanities programs in the United States.

NEH grants for top-rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers are usually awarded to cultural institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars. The position will face confirmation by the U.S. Senate.