Kelly Writers House Endowment
We're especially delighted to celebrate the people and organizations that have contributed thus far to our endowment. Thank you, patrons of the Kelly Writers Endowment—gifts such as yours ensure that this dynamic program space and meeting place for writers and readers continues to grow and thrive! We are grateful for your enthusiasm, encouragement and support, and honored to describe your gifts here.
Anyone can make a gift to our Possibility Fund – a gift of any size will support the Writers House now and in the future. You can make a gift online to our Possibility Fund here.
Irwyn and Lucy Applebaum Fund
We at Writers House are strong believers in praxis, the idea of learning by doing, and we are dedicated to fostering communication between novices and veterans. Lucy and Irwyn Applebaum (C’75) established this fund to support an annual series—the Applebaum Publishers and Editors Series—featuring individuals who make their careers out of book and magazine production, allowing students to gain from their insight.
Bassini Apprenticeships Fund
Each year during the spring semester, the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing hosts three writing apprenticeships. Paired with a faculty mentor affiliated with Penn’s writing programs, each apprentice works on a project that is at the heart of the mentor’s work as a practicing writer and/or as member of a professional writing community. Writing apprenticeships are made possible through a generous grant from Reina Marin Bassini (C’72, GED’72) and Emilio Bassini (C’71, W’71, WG’73).
Blutt Songwriting Symposium Endowed Fund
Founded by Mitchell Blutt (C’78, M’82, L’84) to support an annual songwriting symposium, the Blutt Fund makes it possible for us to welcome writers and performers into our intimate space to discuss the artistic and intellectual process of writing an iconic song.
Bok Endowed Visiting Writers Series Fund
Roxanne and Scott Bok (C’81, W’81, L’84, Trustee 2005-present), members of the Kelly Writers House Advisory Board, created one of our first endowment funds, enabling us to pay honoraria to an exciting roster of writers year after year. Bok visitors include not just novelists, poets, and journalists, but also filmmakers, graphic novelists, critics and more.
The Brodsky Gallery Fund
Michael (W’88) and Heidi Brodsky (C’89) created this fund to support the student-curated art gallery on the first floor of the Writers House. The fund allows a team of intrepid undergraduates to learn the ropes of managing a gallery: from the mechanics of hanging a painting to the conceptual practice of writing a curatorial statement.
Eisler Endowed Internship Fund
Kelly Writers House board member Bonnie Eisler (C’79) established this endowment to support students pursuing competitive summer internships at cultural institutions across the country. The fund allows KWH to provide a small stipend to students taking unpaid internships that are sure to advance their careers, without being hindered by the financial situation.
The Cheryl J. Family Fund for Fiction Programming
Cheryl Family (C’91), a member of the Kelly Writers House Advisory Board, established the Family Fund to support an annual program for a young or emerging fiction writer. This fund enables us to showcase new talent, allowing for variety in our fiction programming.
Fund for Feminist Projects at the Kelly Writers House
Gifted by an anonymous donor, this fund supports Writers House’s new interdisciplinary program series Feminism/s, which explores how art, criticism, political action, and community building can create structural and cultural solutions to gender hierarchies.
Goldstein Award Fund
This fund was established to support young writers, and there aren’t many more restrictions beyond that. The endowment supports an award that goes to an undergraduate who submits a stellar personal statement about his or her writing life.
Terry B. Heled Travel and Research Grant Fund
As a way of memorializing her mother, Terry B. Heled, and honoring the students of her alma mater in gratitude for the encouragement her own research and writing received while she was at Penn, Mali Heled Kinberg (C’95) created this endowed fund at the Kelly Writers House that, each summer, enables a student to travel for the purpose of conducting the research that will lead to significant writing project.
Writers House Journal Endowment Fund
Through this generous gift, Harry Groome (C’63)—also a member of the Kelly Writers House Advisory Board—has supported the publication of a nationally distributed literary journal. The fund supports Jacket2, the Writers House’s online literary journal featuring poetry critiques, reviews, and archives.
Kane-Wallace Kitchen Fund
This fantastic gift from Marty Wallace and Ed Kane (C’71, Trustee 1996-2000) guarantees to nourish the friends of the Writers House for years to come. The endowment supports the Writers House kitchen, enabling us to cater our own programs with delicious snacks and meals all prepared in-house by student volunteers. The gift keeps our equipment new, our paring knives sharp, and our shelves stocked with fresh food, so we can keep our guests well-fed.
Sylvia W. Kauders Fund
The Kauders series, established by Sylvia Kauders (CW’42), allows us to meet informally with memoirists, journalists, and other notable writers of nonfiction who visit the Writers House for memorable conversations over lunch in the dining room and Arts Café.
The Levin Endowed Fund for an Annual Symposium in Memory of Charles Bernheimer
Established in the memory of Comparative Literature teacher and scholar Charles Bernheimer by Writers House Advisory Board member Kate Levin (GAS’96), the Bernheimer Symposium is organized each year by the Writers House Program Coordinator, who takes the opportunity to think expansively about programming possibilities. Past events have honored crime writers, food writers, and print workers.
Kate Levin Community Outreach Internship Fund
Endowments are often established after something in our programming has resonated on a personal level with the donor, and the Levin Outreach Fund is no exception. Kate Levin (G’96), a longtime Writers House Board member, was so moved after hearing Outreach Coordinator Allyson Even (C’13) speak at our annual Writers House New York event that she gave this gift to permanently endow Allyson’s position and guarantee that her good work continues.
The LIVE at the Writers House Endowment
Established anonymously by BigRoc, this funs supports the ongo¬ing collaboration between the Writers House and WXPN 88.5, the monthly radio show LIVE at the Writers House, produced by program coordinator Erin Gautsche.
Parker Prize Endowed Fund for Journalistic Nonfiction
Friend of the Writers House Bret Parker (C’90) established this gift to reward the work of student reporters. Himself a veteran of the Daily Pennsylvanian, Bret liked the idea of a student getting recognition for the professional-grade work they put in on articles; the prize is awarded each spring to a student for an outstanding feature, article, or work of investigative reporting.
Maury Povich Journalism Program Fund
This extraordinary fund represents the single largest programming gift in Writers House history. Penn alum Maury Povich (C’62) and his wife Connie Chung established this endowment to fund all programs having to do with journalism and nonfiction, whether they be readings, discussions, or even student publications or seminars. The gift was kicked off in 2011 with a panel discussion on the future of journalism, featuring Avery Rome, Paul Hendrickson, Anthony DeCurtis, and Dick Polman.
The Herman and Jeanne Robinson Letterpress Fund
Nina Robinson Vitow (CW’70, WG’76) established this fund in honor of her late parents Herman and Jeanne, in order to support the work of our imprint at Penn’s Common Press. The Common Press is a printmaking studio featuring an 18th-century letterpress, co-founded with Penn’s School of Design and the Rare Books Library. The Robinson Press allows students from KWH to create broadsides, posters, book arts projects and more.
The Caroline Rothstein Fund in Support of Oral Poetry
Nancy (CW’75) and Steven Rothstein established this fund to support an annual program in honor of their daughter, Caroline Rothstein (C’06), an active member of the Writers House community who was a leading voice in spoken-word projects at Penn. This gift allows us to offer programs in the oral tradition, including slam poetry and sound poetry.
The Bob Lucid Memorial Fund
Susan Small Savitsky (CW’75) and Ed Kane (C’71) established this fund to support an annual fiction program in memory of beloved Penn professor Robert “Bob” Lucid. Bob taught at Penn for 32 years until his retirement in 1996, and his visionary spirit and peda¬gogical idealism filled the Writers House from its beginning.
Alice Cooper Shoulberg Scholarship Fund for the Support of Student Creative Publishing
A stellar student who graduated from Penn’s College for Women in 1955, Alice Cooper Shoulberg went on to a brilliant career as a Philadelphia public school teacher. Established in her memory, the Shoulberg Fund supports the technological needs of our Publications Room, where students depend on computers and software to edit and publish their magazines.
The Stacey Gillis Weber W'85 and Jeffrey A. Weber Symposium Fund
Established by Stacey and Jeff Weber, the annual Weber Symposium strives to emphasize the importance of clarity in writing about finance and economics by featuring guest speakers whose work reflects this commitment to lucid prose.
The Wexler Fund for Programs at the Kelly Writers House
Gary and Nina Wexler, Penn parents and members of the Kelly Writers House Advisory Board, created this unrestricted endowment fund to support all kinds of programs and new student initiatives. The Wexler Fund allows students to think creatively about what can happen in our space.
Wexler Family Endowed Fund for Programs in Jewish Life and Culture
This fund, also created by Gary and Nina Wexler, allows the Kelly Writers House to celebrate the work of Jewish authors and Judaica. This can include the work of up-and-coming Jewish writers, journalists and essayists who write on Jewish issues, and painters whose work includes Judaic themes.
Zarin/Rosenfeld Endowment for Literary Journalism Magazine
Penn parents Judith Zarin and Gerald Rosenfeld created this fund to support a magazine of literary journalism at the Kelly Writers House. The Green Couch, a magazine of literary journalism founded by Eric Karlan (C’09), is printed each semester through the Zarin/Rosenfeld Fund.
Class of 1999 Parents Project: Beyond the Classroom—the Undergraduate Experience
In honor of the class of 1999, Penn parents elected to assist with three separate projects: Kelly Writers House, the Ellen and Howard Kats Fitness Center, and Civic House. Their gift demonstrated that Penn parents support the University’s emphasis on encouraging creativity, well-being, and social responsibility. Contributions from the Class of 1999 Parents Project were directed toward our General Endowment, an all-purpose fund that continues to support program development, student initiatives, and more.
