Playwright David Henry Hwang will succeed costume designer William Ivey Long as the chair of the American Theater Wing, the not-for-profit theater development organization that founded the Tony Awards.

As chair of the Wing’s board, Hwang (“M. Butterfly,” “Yellow Face,” “Chinglish”) will work with president and CEO Heather Hitchens on a slate of initiatives that include a new grant funded by Andrew Lloyd Webber in support of theater education for underserved students. Along with co-presenting the Tony Awards every year with the Broadway League, the Wing also runs theater development programs including the Jonathan Larson Grants and SpringBoardNYC. Two years ago the organization became a co-presenter of the Obie Awards.

The chair of the American Theater Wing serves as a high-visibility advocate and cheerleader for the organization, while also overseeing the governance of the nonprofit. Hwang has been on the Wing’s board since 2009, and now follows in the footsteps of Long, who steps down at the end of four consecutive, one-year terms in the post, which is the maximum allowed.

The Wing has also enlisted a notably diverse roster of new appointees to the Wing’s advisory committee, including Patti LuPone, Lucy Liu, “Eclipsed” producer Alia Jones-Harvey, “On Your Feet!” choreographer Sergio Trujillo, “Eclipsed” director Liesl Tommy, Sony music and theater exec Lia Vollack, attorney Charles Tolbert and real estate executive Robyn Coles.