“The Swarthout Summer Artistic Development Grants are a game changer - and our students will benefit immensely.” “This generous gift from the Swarthout family will enable a creative writing program - one of the most noted in the nation - to move to its next level while fully embracing the ASU mission of access and inclusive excellence,” he said.

Jeffrey Cohen, dean of humanities in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, of which the Department of English is an academic unit, celebrated the family’s well-timed beneficence and commitment to ASU’s core values.

The Swarthout Mentorship Fellows are current Master of Fine Arts in creative writing students who will support the undergraduate fellows for six weeks over the summer through one-on-one meetings as well as group activities.

This fund will ensure that we launch our accomplished and diverse writers to early success. Funds will cover expenses like professional development, contest and submission entry fees, manuscript review, research trips and workshops - all with the goal of enabling swift publication of their work.

The Kathryn Blair Swarthout Fellows will be four graduating Master of Fine Arts students from ASU’s creative writing program who will be supported as they transition into their careers.

They will receive financial and mentoring support to apply to Master of Fine Arts in creative writing programs, including the payment of all test and admission fees, to ensure that their voices find a national stage. Swarthout Fellows will be six ASU undergraduates from underserved and underrepresented communities about to enter their final year of study at ASU. The grants initiate a series of three programs: The Swarthout family, whose first gift to ASU was in 1962, has created a new endowment to fund Summer Artistic Development Grants in English’s creative writing program. A family with longtime philanthropic ties to Arizona State University has made a $1 million gift to the university’s Department of English.

Film impact transitions win