MacArthur Foundation

In 2017, Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee became the first winners of 100&Change for their work with children in the Middle East. Above, Elmo learns how to fly a kite at Azraq Camp, Jordan.

Arts

The MacArthur Foundation wants bold solutions to big problems — the prize is $100M

1:46pm May 22, 2024

by Elizabeth Blair

The MacArthur Foundation is looking for ideas that would solve one of the biggest global challenges. The winning proposal will receive $100 million.

The groundbreaking research of Linsey Marr, an aerosols expert and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is airborne as opposed to traveling in large droplets that fall with gravity.

This MacArthur 'genius' knew the initial theory of COVID transmission was flawed

12:07pm October 04, 2023

by Gabriel Spitzer

When COVID-19 first emerged, Linsey Marr suspected right away it spread through the air. Time has proved this aerosols engineer right. Now she's being honored with a MacArthur "genius grant."

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The artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is one of this year's MacArthur fellows. Her sculptures, paintings, installations and photography are displayed in over 30 museums around the globe. When she got news of the s0-called "genius grant," she says, " I was running room to room in the house, feeling a sense of terror and elation."

MacArthur 'genius' makes magical art that conjures up her Afro-Cuban roots

12:03pm October 04, 2023

by Malaka Gharib

One of this year's MacArthur fellows — the so-called 'genius grant' — the artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is inspired by her family's African roots, her Cuban childhood and modern American life.

Journalists protest outside the offices of the Austin American Statesman in June as part of a nationwide effort by staff at Gannett-owned newspapers to draw attention to layoffs and budget cuts. A coalition of donors is promising to bolster local news with a half-billion dollars over five years.

Philanthropies pledge $500 million to address 'crisis in local news'

4:35pm September 07, 2023

by David Folkenflik

The new coalition of donors, led by the MacArthur Foundation, says one out of every five Americans lives in a "news desert" with little to no reliable local news.

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Catherine Flowers is the founding director of the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise. She recently received one of the MacArthur Foundation's 2020 Genius Grants.

MacArthur 'Genius' Brings National Attention To Local Fight Against Sewage Failures

5:54pm October 21, 2020

by Emma Bowman

Catherine Flowers, founder of the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise, won a 2020 MacArthur "Genius Grant" for bringing attention to the sanitation crisis facing both her hometown and across the U.S.

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Kelly Lytle Hernández is a historian and professor at UCLA and newly named MacArthur Fellow. Her work focuses on the U.S. history of mass incarceration and immigrant detention.

National

Rebel Historian Who Reframes History Receives MacArthur 'Genius' Grant

7:13pm September 25, 2019

by Audie Cornish

Kelly Lytle Hernández's work challenges the historical narratives surrounding mass incarceration and immigrant detention. The UCLA professor was named one of this year's 26 MacArthur Fellows.

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Joichi Ito stepped down as Director of the M.I.T. Media Lab on Saturday after a New Yorker article alleged the lab concealed its ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

National

M.I.T. Media Lab Director Steps Down Over Financial Ties To Jeffrey Epstein

7:38pm September 07, 2019

by Shannon Van Sant

Joichi Ito's resignation comes a day after an article in The New Yorker reported the lab concealed its relationship with Epstein, who helped solicit millions in donations from other wealthy donors.

Gregg Gonsalves, a global health advocate, is one of this year's MacArthur "genius grant" winners.

Health & Safety

A Global Health Evangelist Is Shocked To Hear He's A 'Genius'

5:15pm October 06, 2018

by Jason Beaubien

Gregg Gonsalves dropped out of college, drifted around, became a health-care activist and epidemiology professor — and is now the recipient of a 'genius grant.'

The 2018 recipients of the MacArthur "genius" grant.

Here Are The Winners Of The 2018 MacArthur 'Genius' Grants

3:57pm October 04, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

From engineering to economics, from painting to planetary science, the range of this year's class is vast. But the MacArthur Foundation expects them all to do big things with their newfound $625,000.

News

North Carolina Civil Rights Leader Rev. William Barber Receives 'Genius Grant'

2:59pm October 04, 2018

by Associated Press

The North Carolina minister who's been arrested at least 14 times as he fights for poor people and civil rights issues says he's overwhelmed to have received the recognition popularly known as a ge