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Jan. 10, 2008/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Marla Carpenter, 336-770-3337, carpem@ncarts.edu THE WILLIAM R. KENAN, JR. CHARITABLE TRUST GIVES UNPRECEDENTED $1 MILLION CHALLENGE GRANT TO THE NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation Gives $125,000 to NCSA in Response to Challenge
WINSTON-SALEM – John Mauceri, chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts, announced today that the School has received an unprecedented $1 million challenge grant for scholarships from The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust Challenge Grant is targeted at bringing new donors to the School and bringing awareness and support to its scholarship programs. The grant will match gifts from new donors and selected donors who increase their support of the School. Gifts to any of the five arts schools that make up NCSA and its academic program will be matched with a gift to scholarship in that school. “We are very grateful to The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust for this investment in our School, and for its encouragement to engage new donors in the activities of our extraordinary School,” Chancellor Mauceri said. “Scholarships are the key to student recruitment as well as the retention of the best artists from North Carolina and around the world. The Kenan Trust has been one of the School’s most generous longtime supporters and its visionary leadership is exemplified by this gift.” Dr. Richard M. Krasno, executive director of the Trust, said, “The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust is delighted to continue its support of the North Carolina School of the Arts through this grant. We recognize that scholarship support for the incredibly talented and dedicated young men and women who attend NCSA is essential for the continuing growth and success of the School and we hope our challenge will encourage others who appreciate this great cultural resource to join with us.” This is not the first time that the Kenan Charitable Trust has chosen to fund scholarships at NCSA. Most recently, the Trust donated $1 million for The William R. Kenan, Jr. Excellence Awards – full scholarships for 20 NCSA students over seven years, beginning in 2006-07. In response to the challenge, NCSA has already received a $125,000 gift from The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. Mary Duke Trent Jones, the great grand-daughter of Mary Duke Biddle and the chair of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, said, “The Foundation has supported the North Carolina School of the Arts since its inception and we are pleased to be the first donor to respond to the challenge grant from The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. We were inspired to give this size grant with the knowledge that it would be matched by the Kenan Charitable Trust and it would help further the goals of NCSA through need-based scholarships.” Michael Pulitzer, chair of the NCSA Board of Trustees, said, “The North Carolina School of the Arts is extremely fortunate to have such dedicated friends as The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust and The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. The fact that both organizations have placed such confidence and trust in the School of the Arts and its administration, led by Chancellor Mauceri, is sure to inspire future fund-raising efforts as we engage new donors.” The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust was established in 1965 from the estate of William Rand Kenan, Jr., who was born in Wilmington in 1872 and graduated from UNC in 1894. Kenan was a scientist, chemical and mechanical engineer, business executive, dairy farmer and philanthropist. The Kenan family has a long history of support for the North Carolina School of the Arts. Thomas S. Kenan III, of Chapel Hill, for whom the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at NCSA is named, is an honorary member of the School’s Board of Trustees, a member of its Board of Visitors, and is a founder of NCSA. The primary purpose of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2006, is to further and extend Mrs. Biddle’s life-long interests in religious, educational, and charitable activities in New York City and the state of North Carolina. The North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA opened in Winston-Salem in 1965 and became a part of the University of North Carolina in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. For more information about NCSA, visit www.ncarts.edu. ###
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WINSTON-SALEM – John Mauceri, chancellor of the North Carolina School of the Arts, announced today that the School has received an unprecedented $1 million challenge grant for scholarships from The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.

The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust Challenge Grant is targeted at bringing new donors to the School and bringing awareness and support to its scholarship programs.

The grant will match gifts from new donors and selected donors who increase their support of the School. Gifts to any of the five arts schools that make up NCSA and its academic program will be matched with a gift to scholarship in that school.

“We are very grateful to The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust for this investment in our School, and for its encouragement to engage new donors in the activities of our extraordinary School,” Chancellor Mauceri said. “Scholarships are the key to student recruitment as well as the retention of the best artists from North Carolina and around the world. The Kenan Trust has been one of the School’s most generous longtime supporters and its visionary leadership is exemplified by this gift.”

Dr. Richard M. Krasno, executive director of the Trust, said, “The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust is delighted to continue its support of the North Carolina School of the Arts through this grant. We recognize that scholarship support for the incredibly talented and dedicated young men and women who attend NCSA is essential for the continuing growth and success of the School and we hope our challenge will encourage others who appreciate this great cultural resource to join with us.”

This is not the first time that the Kenan Charitable Trust has chosen to fund scholarships at NCSA. Most recently, the Trust donated $1 million for The William R. Kenan, Jr. Excellence Awards – full scholarships for 20 NCSA students over seven years, beginning in 2006-07.

In response to the challenge, NCSA has already received a $125,000 gift from The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.

Mary Duke Trent Jones, the great grand-daughter of Mary Duke Biddle and the chair of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, said, “The Foundation has supported the North Carolina School of the Arts since its inception and we are pleased to be the first donor to respond to the challenge grant from The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust. We were inspired to give this size grant with the knowledge that it would be matched by the Kenan Charitable Trust and it would help further the goals of NCSA through need-based scholarships.”

Michael Pulitzer, chair of the NCSA Board of Trustees, said, “The North Carolina School of the Arts is extremely fortunate to have such dedicated friends as The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust and The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. The fact that both organizations have placed such confidence and trust in the School of the Arts and its administration, led by Chancellor Mauceri, is sure to inspire future fund-raising efforts as we engage new donors.”

The William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust was established in 1965 from the estate of William Rand Kenan, Jr., who was born in Wilmington in 1872 and graduated from UNC in 1894. Kenan was a scientist, chemical and mechanical engineer, business executive, dairy farmer and philanthropist.

The Kenan family has a long history of support for the North Carolina School of the Arts. Thomas S. Kenan III, of Chapel Hill, for whom the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at NCSA is named, is an honorary member of the School’s Board of Trustees, a member of its Board of Visitors, and is a founder of NCSA.

The primary purpose of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, which celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2006, is to further and extend Mrs. Biddle’s life-long interests in religious, educational, and charitable activities in New York City and the state of North Carolina.

The North Carolina School of the Arts was the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, NCSA opened in Winston-Salem in 1965 and became a part of the University of North Carolina in 1972. More than 1,100 students from middle school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. For more information about NCSA, visit www.ncarts.edu.

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