The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and provides approximately $260 million annually in grants and impact investments. It is based in Chicago, and in 2014 it was the 12th-largest private foundation in the United States. It has awarded more than US$6.8 billion since its first grants in 1978.
Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856.
Chief Illiniwek was the symbol/mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs, from October 30, 1926 to February 21, 2007. Chief Illiniwek was portrayed by a student to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake, although the regalia worn was from the Sioux. The student portraying Chief Illiniwek performed during halftime of Illinois football and basketball games, as well as during women's volleyball matches.
Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.
Jeanne Gang is an American architect and the founder and leader of Studio Gang, an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Gang was first widely recognized for the Aqua Tower, the tallest woman-designed building in the world at the time of its completion. Aqua has since been surpassed by the nearby St. Regis Chicago, also of her design. Surface has called Gang one of Chicago's most prominent architects of her generation, and her projects have been widely awarded.
Dinaw Mengestu is an Ethiopian-American novelist and writer. In addition to three novels, he has written for Rolling Stone on the war in Darfur, and for Jane Magazine on the conflict in northern Uganda. His writing has also appeared in Harper's, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other publications. He is the Program Director of Written Arts at Bard College. In 2007 the National Book Foundation named him a "5 under 35" honoree. Since his first book was published in 2007, he has received numerous literary awards, and was selected as a MacArthur Fellow in 2012.
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is a public university in Chicago, Illinois. NEIU serves approximately 9,000 students in the region and is a Hispanic Serving Institution. The main campus is located in the community area of North Park with three additional campuses in the metropolitan area. NEIU has one of the longest running free-form community radio stations, WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM.
Frank Vlastnik is an American author and actor known for his roles in several Broadway productions.
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, O.O.N.(born 1957 Nigeria) is a hematology oncologist, Associate Dean for Global Health and Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor in Medicine and Human Genetics at the University of Chicago. She also serves as director of the University of Chicago Hospital's Cancer Risk Clinic.
Tami Bond holds the Walter Scott, Jr. Presidential Chair in Energy, Environment and Health at Colorado State University since 2019. For many years she was a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois, and an affiliate professor of Atmospheric Science. Bond has focused research on the effective study of black carbon or soot in the atmosphere. She is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. A MacArthur Fellowship was awarded to her in 2014.
Rick Lowe is a Houston-based artist and community organizer, whose Project Row Houses is considered an important example of social-practice art. In 2014, he was among the 21 people awarded a MacArthur "genius" fellowship.
Carlos Ramirez-Rosa is an American politician. He has served as the alderman for Chicago's 35th Ward since May 18, 2015.
Cristina Ibarra is an American documentary filmmaker who currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. She was a Rauschenberg Fellow, Rockefeller Fellow, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow, and a MacArthur Fellow.
Amanda Williams is a visual artist based in Bridgeport, Chicago. Williams grew up in Chicago's South Side and trained as an architect. Her work investigates color, race, and space while blurring the conventional line between art and architecture. She has taught at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, Sam Fox School at Washington University in St. Louis, Illinois Institute of Technology, and her alma mater Cornell University. Williams has lectured and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Museum, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and at a TED conference.
Bibiana Suárez is a Latin American artist from Puerto Rico. She specializes in painting with mixed media. Her work reflects the immigrant experience of a search for self-identification and the problems of living on the edge between two cultures. Suárez's art pieces are representative of culture, social, and political dynamics.
Bill Thies is an American computer scientist and senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research India and the recipient of the 2016 MacArthur Fellowship.
Jesse H. Ruiz is an American politician, lawyer, and businessman. He has previously held the positions of deputy governor of Illinois for education, chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, president of the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners, vice president of the Chicago Board of Education, and interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools.. He currently works in the private sector as chief compliance officer and general counsel to the Vistria Group.
Dave Kindred is an American sportswriter.
