The MacArthur Fellowship
The Nomination Process
The Selection Process
Selection Criteria
The Board of Directors
Program History and Background

The MacArthur Fellowship

What is the MacArthur Fellowship?

The MacArthur Fellowship is a five-year grant to individuals who show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work. The program selects individuals of all ages and from all fields and offers recipients flexibility to pursue their work without reporting requirements. Individuals cannot apply for this award; they must be nominated. Recipients must be citizens or residents of the United States and must not hold elective or appointed office in government. Typically, between 20 and 40 recipients are selected each year, but the program operates under no fixed quotas or timetables.

The MacArthur Fellows Program functions under two assumptions: first, that human creativity is wonderfully diverse, and second, that individuals are likely to be more productive if they have support for their vision and the opportunity to design their working conditions. Recipients are chosen for their potential to make exceptionally creative contributions to their respective fields.

What does the fellowship enable recipients to do?

The stipend carries no restrictions. It is designed to provide a kind of seed money or venture capital for intellectual, social, and artistic endeavors. Substantial unconditional funding can remove significant constraints on recipients' productivity or creativity and can free them to change the emphasis or direction of their work. Fellows use the support in many ways. Some put the funds toward current or future work, research or travel, release time from their institution for more extended independent work periods, or the support of assistants. Others use the money to pay off debts or plan for future expenses. Some Fellows have used the stipend to inaugurate new programs or institutions, or to provide grant or fellowship money for other groups. It is entirely up to them.

What do the recipients receive?

The stipend for the MacArthur Fellowship is currently set at $500,000, paid in quarterly installments over five years. There are no restrictions on how the money can be spent, and we impose no reporting obligations. Fellows also are offered health insurance during the five years of their fellowship. They are invited to attend regular reunions of past and current Fellows.

Why are no strings attached to the fellowship?

Recipients are chosen for their potential to make exceptionally creative contributions to their respective fields. We believe that highly motivated and talented people are in the best position to decide how to allocate their time and resources. By adopting a "no strings attached" policy, we provide the maximum freedom and flexibility for the recipients to use the fellowship in ways that most effectively facilitate their future work.

How are recipients notified of the fellowship, and what are their responses?

Generally, the director of the program calls the new Fellows in June of each year, and we confirm the award with an overnight letter. Fellows' responses are just what one might imagine - amazement, gratitude, and sometimes incredulity.

Why are applications neither solicited nor accepted?

One of the conditions imposed by the IRS in approving the Fellows Program was that the Foundation would not accept applications for the fellowship.

Another reason we do not accept applications goes back to the origins of the Fellows Program. From its inception, the Fellows Program represented a radical departure from both traditional philanthropy and conventional funding mechanisms, which are generally organized by discipline and managed through the peer review system. Thus, applications must usually be limited to a specific proposal within a particular discipline. The very individuals whom the program hopes to identify as MacArthur Fellows are often those whose work does not fall clearly within categories established by conventional funding agencies. We rely on a network of nominators to bring these people to our attention.

Who are the nominators?

Nominators invited by the Foundation are identified for their expertise and familiarity with exceptionally creative people in their respective fields. In order to provide fresh perspectives and to expand the reach of the program, we invite a new group of nominators each year. They serve confidentially for terms of several months each. Nominators may submit any number of nominations they please. Some nominate one person, a few nominate 10 or 20, and the average number nominated is three. We receive many hundreds of nominations annually. Unsolicited nominations are not accepted.

How are the nominators selected?

We keep on file a large and ever-growing list of names of potential nominators who have been recommended to us from many sources. Recommendations come from Foundation Board members, selectors, other nominators, and various experts across the country. We also make an effort to identify people who are leaders in specific fields or whose work naturally exposes them to a wide variety of interesting and creative people. Occasionally authors of reference letters receive an invitation to nominate when their comments reflect particularly good judgment and a special sensitivity to the goals and standards of the program.

How do nominators nominate?

Nominators write a letter to the program director, usually a page or two, describing the person they are nominating and their reasons for doing so. They focus on the quality of the individual's work and creativity, and on the likely benefits of the award to the recipient. We ask them to suggest the names of additional contacts and to submit, if practical, the nominee's current curriculum vitae or resume. They also will occasionally provide us with descriptions of the background and current state of the nominee's field in order to provide a context for the decision-making process.

What fields are generally represented in the program?

A Fellow may be selected from virtually any field. There is no field or category per se from which a nominee is ineligible. Our recipients have included scientists, historians, poets and novelists, artists and composers, and people working in public service.

What happens to nominations after they are received?

Prior to review, each nomination is assigned to one of the program's senior staff. Staff members draw from the nominator's letter, experience with nominations in similar areas, and independent investigation to prepare a file for the Selection Committee. The file is generally composed of letters of evaluation from experts in the nominee's field and samples of the nominee's work, such as articles, books, slides, films, videotapes, and recordings. It may also contain reviews of those works and reports about the nominee published by others.

How long does it take for a nomination to move through the selection process?

The shortest amount of time is about six or eight months, but it can take several years for a nomination to be developed sufficiently.

Have some people been nominated more than once?

Yes, we have received independent nominations of certain individuals two, three, even four times.

Do some people know that they have been nominated?

Occasionally some find out, but not from us. Since there is nothing individuals can do on their own behalf to be considered, and because many more are nominated than will receive a fellowship, it is best for individuals to remain unaware of their nomination status.

What is the Selection Committee?

The Selection Committee consists of 11 to 15 individuals who serve confidentially. They are chosen because of their broad experience, excellent judgment, and curiosity. Committee members bring expertise from many different areas - the arts, humanities, social sciences, biological and physical sciences, the professions, and public service - but individual members do not speak on behalf of a discipline or a profession. In identifying members for the committee, we look for depth of interest in at least one major field, broad familiarity with other major fields, and, above all, an enthusiasm for creative ideas and important issues within and outside of their areas of expertise. Because the committee works as a group, the decision on each nomination, regardless of the nominee's field, represents a collective judgment drawn from the perspectives of, for example, a classicist, a composer, a psychologist, a lawyer, a community leader, a historian, a physicist, and a poet. At the end of each year, some members rotate off the committee, and individual selectors generally serve for three years.

What kinds of decisions do the selectors make during these discussions?

When selectors first come together to discuss the file of a nominee, they have read, seen, or heard some of the person's work - articles, books, recordings, slides. They have studied the nominating letter and evaluation letters that we received. If the nomination appears promising, selectors will work with staff to develop a strategy for further investigation. They will name others we might contact for more confidential evaluations and will suggest additional materials they would like to review. In some cases they will move a nominee to "candidate" status, signaling significant interest and the desire to see the file again in a few months. Other nominations are sometimes deferred pending specific information to be collected by staff or anticipated work forthcoming from the nominee. For still other files, a consensus develops that further consideration is not warranted.

From candidate status, a file can move to "finalist" status, which indicates that the staff has done all the research needed for the Selection Committee to make a final recommendation to the Board of Directors. Thus, the Selection Committee plays an active role throughout the long process of file development. Some files are reviewed six or more times in the course of investigation.

How are final recommendations made?

During its year of meetings, the committee accumulates a list of finalists. Finalist status is by no means an indication that an award will be recommended. Some finalists are recommended by consensus as MacArthur Fellows to the Board for approval. Others are sometimes retained for further review at a later date.

How many nominations are reviewed during the course of a year?

We receive several hundred nominations per year, but not all of them are considered that same year. All nominations are reviewed by the Selection Committee in one form or another.

Why all the confidentiality?

All of the participants in the selection process - nominators, evaluators, and selectors - serve anonymously, and we keep their communications confidential. Anonymity protects them from being inundated with unsolicited requests. In addition, our experience shows that people readily provide frank impressions if they have an assurance that their responses will not be disseminated beyond the program staff and Selection Committee.

What are the selection criteria?

The Board of Directors has established three criteria of selection for the fellowship:
(1) Fellows must be exceptionally creative individuals; (2) Fellows must show significant promise for important future advances based on a track record of accomplishment; and (3) fellowships must be able to relieve constraints that prevent the recipients from freely working on their most innovative projects, to do what might not be done otherwise. The Selection Committee measures each file against these criteria.

How does the program define "creativity"?

Creativity, like humor, can get lost in definition - not because it cannot be described, but because it can be expressed in limitless variations. In this program, we have found it useful to regard creativity as the expression of human endeavor as individuals actively make or find something new, or connect the seemingly unconnected in significant ways.

The Fellows Program places its emphasis on individual creativity because the discoveries, actions, and ideas that shape our society often result from the path-breaking efforts of individuals. The MacArthur Fellowship is designed to support people, often unrecognized, who are expanding the boundaries of knowledge and human interaction. The visibility that comes with a fellowship can also draw attention to the efforts of others working in similar areas or fields. By highlighting the remarkable breadth and diversity of creativity exhibited by some people, the MacArthur Fellows Program indirectly acknowledges the value and efforts of many others who apply their creative energies to the common benefit.

Why does the program not use the term "genius" regarding its Fellows?

We avoid using the term "genius" to describe MacArthur Fellows because it connotes a singular characteristic of intellectual prowess. The people we seek to support express many other important qualities: ability to transcend traditional boundaries, willingness to take risks, persistence in the face of personal and conceptual obstacles, capacity to synthesize disparate ideas and approaches.

What role does the Board of Directors play in the MacArthur Fellows Program?

The Board of Directors established the MacArthur Fellows Program and is ultimately responsible for its overall policies and procedures. Throughout the selection cycle, the Board is kept apprised of Selection Committee progress. At the end of the cycle, the Board receives for its consideration and approval the committee's formal recommendations for MacArthur Fellowships. In addition, the Board of Directors authorizes the invitation of members of the Selection Committee who have been recommended by the program's staff. At present, the policies of the MacArthur Fellows Program are handled by the Board of Directors acting as the Committee of the Whole.

Who were John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur?

John MacArthur was a businessman whose funds created the Foundation; Catherine was his second wife and a member of the boards of many of the firms he owned. John MacArthur was the sole owner of Bankers Life & Casualty Company, a Chicago-based firm he purchased in the 1930s. He had numerous real estate holdings in New York and Florida, and other businesses and real estate all over the country. He created the Foundation in 1970. It began operations upon his death in 1978. He selected Board members to run the Foundation but did not provide guidelines for them to follow.

Why is the Foundation interested in issues relating to individuals and creativity? Whose idea was the Fellows Program?

The late William T. Kirby, a member of the Board from its beginning, brought to the Board's attention at one of its first meetings, in August 1978, an article entitled "Of Venture Research" by Dr. George Burch [American Heart Journal, December 1976]. Dr. Burch argued that money should be set aside to allow truly creative individuals the free time to be alone and think. He wrote, "There is a need for granting agencies to seek out investigators who are genuinely interested in research and exploration of the unknown to advance knowledge for the sake of knowledge." He argued, "Recipients should be left alone without the annoyances and distractions imposed by grant applications, reviewing committees, and pressure to publish." This article became the focal point of early discussions about the program.

The Burch article, and others like it, prompted John MacArthur's son, J. Roderick MacArthur, who was also a member of the Foundation's Board, to propose the formation of the MacArthur Fellows Program. He, along with other Board members, met with representatives of other foundations and with scientists, humanists, and others to test this innovative idea. There were meetings held in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere, all devoted to exploring the idea, shaping it, testing it, and seeing how it might develop into a program.

The Board envisioned a program that would: (a) identify creative individuals with extraordinary promise for significant accomplishment; (b) select these individuals from across a broad range of fields and professions; (c) give them enough money to live decently, so that they would not be required to take other work; (d) pay out this money over a long enough time period to allow them the freedom to set their own agenda; and (e) leave them alone to work on whatever they might choose, without any strings attached to the use of the funds or any reporting requirements.

What percentage of the total payout for the Foundation does the program represent?

Between 1989 and 2005, the program represented about 5 percent of annual grantmaking
by the MacArthur Foundation.

What other kinds of activities does the Foundation support?

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking

institution dedicated to helping groups and individuals foster lasting improvement in the

human condition. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of

knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy,

and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media.

 

One of the nation’s ten largest private philanthropic foundations, MacArthur has

awarded more than $3 billion in grants since it began operations in 1978 with assets, as of

December 31, 2004, of about $5 billion. The annual grantmaking budget is approximately

$180 million.

(last revised June 2000)