John W. Cook became the president of the Henry Luce Foundation in September, 1992. Previously, Dr. Cook served on the faculty at Yale University for twenty-seven years. At Yale, he administered two graduate programs in interdisciplinary studies and taught the history of art and architecture in the area of religious studies. He has written numerous articles and books on the subject. Since 1985, Dr. Cook has been active in an Asian seminar that studies the religions of Asia and their arts, and has lectured in India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and throughout the United States. Dr. Cook is a scholar-contributor to the Dictionary of Art, a thirty-seven volume Grove series. In 1996, he was the Deneke Lecturer on Twentieth Century Art at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University, United Kingdom. In 1998, he was the Hussey Lecturer on Sacred Art at Oxford University. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Salzburg Seminar, and was chair of Salzburg Seminar Session 371 Arts, Religion, and the Shaping of Culture in 1999.