Highlights
The MacArthur Foundation is Chicago's largest philanthropy, with assets of more than $6.4 billion in 2007. It disburses about $260 million a year in grants, loans and other program-related investments. The foundation was created from the life insurance and real estate fortune of billionaire John D. MacArthur, who died in 1978, and his wife, Catherine T., who died in 1981. Its MacArthur Fellows program, though the smallest of its four principal program areas, has captured the public imagination with its no-string "genius" grants, most recently of $500,000 over five years, given seemingly out of the blue to some two dozen people annually who are considered to be extremely creative and promisin...
The MacArthur Foundation is Chicago's largest philanthropy, with assets of more than $6.4 billion in 2007. It disburses about $260 million a year in grants, loans and other program-related investments. The foundation was created from the life insurance and real estate fortune of billionaire John D. MacArthur, who died in 1978, and his wife, Catherine T., who died in 1981. Its MacArthur Fellows program, though the smallest of its four principal program areas, has captured the public imagination with its no-string "genius" grants, most recently of $500,000 over five years, given seemingly out of the blue to some two dozen people annually who are considered to be extremely creative and promising in their respective disciplines in the arts, humanities and sciences. MacArthur's largest grant-making area is global security and sustainability, in which it gives to groups involved in human rights and international justice, peace and security, conservation, population and reproductive health, higher education and human migration. Its human and community development program addresses such local and national issues as community development, education, mental health and, with increasing emphasis, affordable housing and juvenile justice. Its general program funds independent documentarians, Chicago arts and cultural groups, and groups involved in intellectual property research. Recently, the foundation refocused its educational giving on the impact of the Internet and other new media on learning by and social participation of youths. Its recent interest in new media also has included virtual communities such as Second Life. Since 1999, the foundation has been headed by Jonathan Fanton, a former president of the New School University who has a long history of participation with international human rights groups.
Displaying items 1-12 of 51
» View latimes.com items only
1
2
3
4
5
•
Next >
-
USC School of Theatre to change name to School of Dramatic Arts
The University of Southern California’s School of Theatre announced Sunday it will change its name to the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Officials said the change, effective July 1 and three years in the making, reflects the school’s emphasis on...
Tags: Tate Donovan, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, John Ritter, Arts and Culture
-
Review: 'Detroit: A Biography' by Scott Martelle sees ruin, hope
Special to the Los Angeles TimesDetroit: A Biography Scott Martelle Chicago Review Press: 288 pp., $24.95 In February 1863, Thomas Faulkner, a Detroit saloon owner of mixed-race background, was arrested on the charge of raping a 9-year-old white girl. Despite his protestations of...Tags: Prisons, Biography (genre), Waterford, Punishment, Music
-
|Story
-
Jeanne Gang is first architect in 11 years to win MacArthur grant
Culture MonsterJeanne Gang, the 47-year-old founder of Studio Gang Architects, joins 21 other MacArthur Fellows this year; each of them will receive a $500,000 cash prize from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that famously comes with no strings... -
MacArthur 'genius' grants go to cellist, architect, jazz musician
Culture MonsterAlisa Weilerstein, Jeanne Gang, Dafnis Prieto among recipients of MacArthur genius grants... -
Poet Kay Ryan among the geniuses
Jacket CopyKay Ryan, a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and a former U.S. poet laureate, is among this year's recipients of MacArthur Foundation "genius" grants.... -
Elouise Cobell dies at 65; Native American activist
Elouise Cobell, the treasurer of the Blackfeet tribe who tenaciously pursued a lawsuit that accused the federal government of cheating Native Americans out of more than a century's worth of royalties, resulting in a record $3.4-billion settlement, has...Tags: Politics, File Sharing, Regional Authority, U.S. Military, Petroleum Industry
-
Duke Foundation creates nation's biggest artist-grant program
Culture MonsterThe Doris Duke Foundation has announced a new $50 million funding initiative for jazz, contemporary dance and theater, which includes the nation's biggest charitable grant program for individual artists. On top of that, the Duke Foundation says it will... -
MacArthur 'genius' tackles concussions in football
Kevin Guskiewicz, one of the winners of the MacArthur Foundation award announced Tuesday, was long a thorn in the side of the National Football League.
Since 1999, he has wired the helmets of about 700 college football players with accelerometers to...Tags: National Football League, North Carolina Tar Heels, Pittsburgh Steelers, Awards and Prizes, Behavioral Conditions
-
PASSINGS: John Dye, Ellen Stewart, Del Reisman, Irene Jerison
John Dye
Actor best known for 'Touched by an Angel'
John Dye, 47, an actor best known for his role as Andrew in the long-running CBS-TV series "Touched by an Angel," was found dead Monday at his home in San Francisco, the San Francisco medical examiner'...Tags: Roma Downey, Harvey Fierstein, U.S. Army, England, University of California, Berkeley
-
Milton Babbitt dies at 94; composer developed first electronic synthesizer
Composer Milton Babbitt, who was known for his complex orchestral compositions and credited with developing the first electronic synthesizer in the 1950s, has died. He was 94.
Babbitt died Saturday of natural causes at University Medical Center at...Tags: Milton Babbitt, Science and Technology, Electronica (genre), Jackson (Hinds, Mississippi), Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
-
Voters ready for Congress to cut debt
Money & CompanyVoters, it seems, are confused. While the majority say that it's too early to cut back on unemployment benefits, despite the rising national debt, another poll indicates that the majority of Americans also think it is "very important" to cut......
Apr 23, 2012
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Apr 26, 2012
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Jan 8, 2012
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Sep 20, 2011
| Los Angeles Times
Sep 20, 2011
| Los Angeles Times
Sep 20, 2011
| Los Angeles Times
Oct 17, 2011
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Oct 22, 2011
| Los Angeles Times
Sep 20, 2011
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Jan 14, 2011
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Feb 2, 2011
|Story| Los Angeles Times
Nov 16, 2010
| Los Angeles Times
Original site for John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation topic gallery.
