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MacArthur Fellows Program

(Redirected from List of recipients of MacArthur Fellowships)

The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship (sometimes nicknamed the "genius grant") is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation each year to typically 20 to 40 citizens or residents of the US, of any age and working in any field, who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work." According to the Foundation website, "the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential." The current amount of the award is $500,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years. There have been 707 recipients to date.

The Fellowship has no application. People are nominated anonymously, by a body of nominators who submit recommendations to a small selection committee of about a dozen people, also anonymous. The committee then reviews every nominee and passes along their recommendations to the President and the board of directors. The entire process is anonymous and confidential. Most new MacArthur Fellows first learn that they have even been considered when they receive the congratulatory phone call.


Contents

List of MacArthur Fellows

MacArthur Fellows organized by the year of their awards:

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

The grant was featured on an episode of the television show Family Guy; the main character, Peter Griffin, attempted to become a MacArthur Fellow but scored so low on the test that he was deemed mentally retarded. In reality, applications are not accepted and no tests are performed. Instead, the foundation selects leaders in their respective fields to nominate and select fellows under confidential conditions.

On an episode of Mad About You Paul's character receives the call that he had won the "Genius Grant" after his documentary "Buckman".

Stephen Colbert talked about the program on the 09/20/06 episode of The Colbert Report.

The grant was also a key plot point in the film Little Miss Sunshine. Frank (played by Steve Carell) was in contention for the grant vis a vis his status as the pre-eminent Marcel Proust scholar in the world. His key academic and romantic rival usurps him by receiving the grant and Frank's love interest. This is used to establish the complete failure of his life's ambitions.

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Prizes | MacArthur Fellows

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