$50-Million Given to Support Creative-Writing Students
By Caroline Bermudez
Contributor
April 7, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
How much: $50-million
Who got it: The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Who gave it: Helen Zell, through the Zell Family Foundation, which she directs. The money for the fund came from her husband, Sam Zell, co-founder and chairman of Equity International, an investment firm in Chicago.
Where the money will go: Most of the gift, $45-million, will provide aid to students enrolled in the master of fine arts creative writing program, which has been named after her. The rest will supplement instructional programs.
Connection to the university: Ms. Zell earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from the university in 1964. She gave $10-million to start the program in 2004; three years later she provided $1.5-million to endow a visiting professorship in fiction.
Why the donor gave: To supply herself with more reading material. “She’s just trying to make more good books be written so she can read them,” says Michael Byers, director of the writers’ program. “When you get down to it, that’s one of the missions she’s on.”
