Carole McAlpine Watson (born Kansas) is an American academic and leading civil servant. Watson has served twice as acting Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities, first in 2009 and again in 2013 to 2014. Watson studied African American literature and authored Her Prologue, a scholarly bibliography of novels by African American women published between 1859 and 1965. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg State University, a Master's in English and American literature from St.