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Creative Writing to get $10M donation


A $10 million gift from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, to be announced today, will establish the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at ASU, University officials told The State Press in a statement.

According to the statement, the gift is the largest ever received by a humanities program at ASU.

The statement said that the gift to ASU's Center for Creative Writing would bump its national ranking from the top 20 to an even more impressive spot and help metropolitan Phoenix become a haven for creative writing.

"Our creative writing faculty ranks among the best in the nation, and they will use this gift to transform an already superb program into one that is exemplary," said ASU President Michael Crow, in the statement.

Crow is expected to officially announce the gift at 3 p.m.

David Young, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said in the statement that one of his goals was to see the program rise from its status as a top-20 ranked program to the top five.

Jewell Parker Rhodes, a professor of creative writing and English, has been named the artistic director of the new center.

"My hopes for the center are to enrich students' lives and enrich the community," Rhodes said.

She said the center would serve the community through writing, and that it was art that strengthens connections between the University and the community.

"The center will inspire students to do their best work and be a place for community gatherings, classes and poetry readings," Rhodes said Tuesday.

ASU's Archives Building will soon be the Writers House. The building, currently offices and a gallery, will permanently house the Piper Center.

Virginia G. Piper, a long-time Valley philanthropist, formed the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust in 1995. Piper died in 1999. The trust began active, competitive grantmaking in 2001.

The trust will distribute the $10 million in several ways, the largest portion being $5 million for the Creative Writing Center endowment.

There will also be $500,000 for the Writers House, $2 million for an Endowed Chair in Creative Writing and $1 million of support for faculty to pursue research and writing activities.

English professor Norman Dubie said he approved of the money set aside for faculty.

"I'm sure we have neglected faculty that should profit from this gift," he added.

The remaining $1.5 million of the gift will be used for the Piper Creative Writing Scholars Endowment, which will support graduate fellowships for students to study writing, conduct research or do special creative projects in the Center.

Dubie said his hope was "always that the students, before anyone else, enjoy something like this."

Reach the reporter at pamela.j.coffman@asu.edu.


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