 The Zanesville, Ohio native attended Oberlin College and studied music at the Berkshire Music Center and Cleveland Institute of Music in his youth. Anderson was a pioneer in the academic world, and in 1968, he was appointed Director of Music Programs at the National Endowment for the Arts. At the NEA, he developed grant guidelines that garnered private sector support for the arts. And in 1979, he was awarded the Special Citation for Distinguished Service to the Arts. Walter Anderson passed away in November of 2003.