He began heading the panel of experts who answer questions about opera in 1958.

Dan Tully, the chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch, will head the panel.

But President Clinton did not select him to head the panel merely for his vigor.

When no other Democrat stepped forward to head the panel, Mr. Kerry agreed to become chairman.

Mr. West recalled the two retired officers to active duty last fall to head the panel.

Mr. Magruder said his ministerial studies helped qualify him to head the panel.

The chairman of the university board, James P. Murphy, headed the panel, which had six trustees, one college president, two faculty members and a student.

The practice had been to pick a judge of seniority to head the panel.

He headed the advisory panel that recommended an accelerated war on cancer in 1970.

Then it tried to appoint Henry Kissinger, of all people, to head the investigative panel.