Macarthur Foundation

Two organizations here, North Lawndale Employment Network and Chicago Rehab Network, are among nine winners in this country and abroad of a new award for small nonprofits from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Creative and Effective Institutions Awards range from $250,000 to $500,000. The winners have annual budgets of $2.5 million or less, and, though small, they are considered comers in their fields.

Five California scientists, three of them at UC Berkeley, are among the 25 winners across the country of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius" grants. Each of the winners receives $500,000 over five years, which can be used to further their research or for anything else they desire.

Logan High School forensics coach Tommie Lindsey's classroom says a thing or two about his success: It's crowded with banners, trophies and kids. On this morning, Lindsey is just minutes from loading 38 high school students into buses and heading to Long Beach, where they will compete in the Jock Howe Invitational. More than 60 schools from across the nation would participate in the three-day forensics challenge, competing in public speaking, presentation and debate.

When a Kansas schoolteacher named Krista Meisel e-mailed Rueben Martinez to make an appointment with him at his Santa Ana bookstore for last Tuesday, the bookseller didn't think much about it. An erstwhile barber turned nationally recognized missionary for Latino literacy, Martinez met with students and teachers almost every day. At the appointed hour, however, there was no Krista Meisel.

John Corbally, 79, the first president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, known for its "genius grants," and former president of the University of Illinois and Syracuse University, died Friday of brain cancer at his home in Mill Creek, Wash. Corbally was credited with shaping the philanthropy of the richly endowed foundation established by billionaire John D. MacArthur, sole owner of Bankers Life and Casualty Co. of Chicago, who died in 1978.

Lateefah Simon never got good grades. But she has been labeled a genius. Simon barely graduated from high school. But before turning 20, she began running a lauded nonprofit for troubled young women of color. She doesn't shy from admitting insecurities, but Simon shines in public speaking. Now the merits of this energetic and wiry young woman have found a national stage.

A San Diego archeologist who studies the origins of civilization, a Sebastopol, Calif., sculptor whose works fuse the worlds of science and art, and a Santa Fe, N.M., blacksmith who handles hot metal with lyrical skill are among the 24 winners of this year's MacArthur Foundation "genius" grants.

National Public Radio is being awarded the largest grant in its history, $14 million, as part of $42 million in gifts announced today by the philanthropic John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In its announcement, the foundation lauded NPR as "a reliable source of objective information and thoughtful analysis." The NPR Endowment will get $4 million immediately, and the network's operating budget will receive the remaining $10 million over 10 years.

A private foundation is giving $14 million to National Public Radio, $10 million of which will support news and public affairs programs at the network's 714 stations. The other $4 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago will go to an endowment for NPR's long-term financial stability and innovations. The foundation is best known for no-strings-attached awards given to scholars and artists.

Two Caltech researchers, two Los Angeles artists and a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer at the Getty Trust are among 24 people who received this year's so-called genius grants awarded by the MacArthur Foundation. Three other Californians also received the awards, the state thereby accounting for a full third of the recipients. Each of the 24 fellows will receive $500,000 over the next five years to use any way they want--no strings attached.