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The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant",[a] is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and 30 individuals working in any field who have shown "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction" and are citizens or residents of the United States.[5]

Quick Facts Sponsored by, Date ...
MacArthur Fellows Program
Sponsored byThe John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Date1981; 43 years ago (1981)
Websitehttps://www.macfound.org/programs/awards/fellows/
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According to the foundation's website, "the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishments but rather an investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential", but it also says such potential is "based on a track record of significant accomplishments". The current prize is $800,000 paid over five years in quarterly installments. Previously, it was $625,000. This figure was increased from $500,000 in 2013 with the release of a review[6] of the MacArthur Fellows Program. The award has been called "one of the most significant awards that is truly 'no strings attached'".[7]

The program does not accept applications. Anonymous and confidential nominations are invited by the foundation and reviewed by an anonymous and confidential selection committee of about a dozen people. The committee reviews all nominees and recommends recipients to the president and board of directors. Most new fellows first learn of their nomination and award upon receiving a congratulatory phone call. MacArthur Fellow Jim Collins described this experience in an editorial column of The New York Times.[3]

Marlies Carruth is the program's current director.[8]

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Recipients

As of 2023, since 1981, 1131 people have been named MacArthur Fellows,[9] ranging in age from 18 to 82.[10]

In the five broad categories defined by the foundation, the breakdown for recipient focus is as follows: Arts 336; Humanities 170; Public Issues 257; STEM 335; and Social Sciences 120.[9]

Of the 965 terminal degrees earned by 928 fellows during the period 1981 through 2018, 540 (56%) are doctorates, with the Ph.D. accounting for 514 (53.3%). Ivy league schools awarded 306 (31.7%) degrees to 300 (32.3%) fellows.[11][12]

The award is made to individuals of varying educational background but among the 1131 fellowship awards through the class of 2023, the following ten institutions have the most alumni fellows, with Harvard University having the most overall and the California Institute of Technology having the most per capita.[9][13][14]

More information Institution, Fellows (1981–2023) ...
Institution Fellows (1981–2023)[9]
Harvard/Radcliffe 188
Yale 95
Berkeley 78
Princeton 71
Columbia/Barnard 65
MIT 48
Caltech 43
Stanford 41
Chicago 40
Cornell 38
Oxford 35
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1981

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Robert Penn Warren
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1982

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Frank Wilczek
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1983

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John Sayles
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1984

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Michael H. Freedman
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1985

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Marian Wright Edelman
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1986

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Jack Horner
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1987

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Robert Sapolsky

1988

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Max Roach

1989

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Errol Morris

1990

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Paul Ehrlich

1991

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Taylor Branch

1992

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Stephen Schneider

1993

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Amory Lovins

1994

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Ornette Coleman

1995

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Octavia Butler

1996

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Anna Deavere Smith

1997

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David Foster Wallace

1998

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Tim Berners-Lee

1999

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Alison Des Forges

2000

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Cecilia Muñoz

2001

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Lene Hau

2002

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Colson Whitehead

2003

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Jim Yong Kim

2004

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C. D. Wright

2005

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Jonathan Lethem

2006

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Regina Carter

2007

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Shen Wei

2008

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Regina Benjamin

2009

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Esther Duflo

2010

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Annette Gordon-Reed

2011

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Shwetak Patel

2012

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Junot Díaz

2013

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Tarell McCraney

2014

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Alison Bechdel

2015

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Ta-Nehisi Coates

2016

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Claudia Rankine

2017

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Jesmyn Ward

2018

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Doris Tsao

2019

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Lynda Barry

2020

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Jacqueline Woodson

2021

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Daniel Alarcón

2022

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Moriba Jah

2023

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Ada Limón

2024

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Jason Reynolds

Source:[66][67]

Notes

  1. The MacArthur Foundation does not use the term "genius" to describe its fellows and has asked the media to stop using it.[1][2][3][4]

References

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