A Minnesota state senator is being sworn in as a new member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Sen. Dick Cohen, a St. Paul Democrat, was in Washington on Tuesday to take his seat on the panel. He will continue to serve in the state Legislature.

The committee has been in existence since 1982 and works with three cultural agencies. They are the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Other committee appointees include cellist Yo-Yo Ma and actors Edward Norton, Kerry Washington, Sarah Jessica Parker, Forest Whitaker and Alfre Woodard.