J. Roderick MacArthur: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:23, 29 July 2010

Revision as of 06:24, 29 July 2010

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Due to his terminal illness however, Rod MacArthur settled the suit shortly before his death.

Rod MacArthur made two further lasting and important contributions while on the board of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. First, he is the person who pushed the Board to offer the famous MacArthur fellowships, also called “Genius Grants”[ <ref>http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.959481/k.7895/Frequently_Asked_Questions.htm]</ref>. Second, in 1980 at the urging of his son John R. “Rick” MacArthur, then 23, Rod persuaded the Board to partner in creating and funding a Harper's Magazine Foundation to acquire and operate the magazine of the same name. This new entity acquired ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' (which was then losing nearly $2 million per year and was on the verge of ceasing publication) for $250,000. Eventually Rick MacArthur took over the foundation that owned Harper's.

Two years before John D. MacArthur died and set up his foundation, Rod MacArthur used his substantial fortune from the Bradford Exchange, to form his own foundation. As of 2004, the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation had $22 million in assets [http://macarthur.uchicago.edu/about/roderick.html] and supports liberal causes, including the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., and the J. Roderick MacArthur Justice Center at the [[Northwestern University School of Law]] [[Northwestern University School of Law]]. In the philanthropic world, the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation is known colloquially as "Little Mac," and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is known as “Big Mac”.