Poe/Faulkner writing fellowships created

U.Va. will create a fellowship fund named for two celebrated American writers long associated with the school — Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner — with a $1.5 million gift from Paul G. Kimball of New York. The Poe/Faulkner Fellowship Fund will support graduate students in the University’s master of fine arts program in creative writing.

By providing full support for two students entering the program each year, the Poe/Faulkner fellowships will greatly enhance its ability to recruit talented writers. The fund also will help the program provide full fellowship support for all its MFA candidates.

“We are seeking the most talented writers in the world,” said Melvyn P. Leffler, dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. “Paul Kimball’s generous gift substantially increases our ability to compete for them. At U.Va., we have some of the nation’s most distinguished writers and poets, and we want to recruit the best students to work with them.”

Kimball, whose daughter Elizabeth received a master’s degree in English from U.Va. in May, is managing director and co-head of foreign exchange at Morgan Stanley.