Monday, February 17, 2003

Wilmington, N.C. – Nationally respected fundraising consultant, author and lecturer Robert F. Hartsook, JD, EdD, and the Hartsook Companies, Inc., one of the country’s largest fundraising-consulting firms, have established the Austin Robert Hartsook Fellowship in Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Named in honor of Dr. Hartsook’s son, the fellowship will support graduate students in the university’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. Fellowships up to $10,000 will be awarded annually.

The university announced the gift and recognized Dr. Hartsook for the endowment at a Board of Trustees reception Nov. 11, 2002, at Kenan House, the official residence of Chancellor James R. Leutze. The fellowship commitment is $100,000 funded at the rate of $10,000 annually by a pledge from Hartsook Companies, Inc., and a $200,000 bequest to endow the fellowship in Dr. Hartsook’s estate.

“This is extremely important to our department,” said Mark Cox, chair of the Creative Writing Department. “Though we are already able to attract some of the nation’s best writing talent to our program, this endowment will further enhance our recruitment. Financial support like this reduces the necessity of part-time jobs and offers students the freedom to concentrate on their writing. We are incredibly grateful.”

The fellowship is considered a merit scholarship. The Department of Creative Writing will select recipients on the basis of demonstrated creative talent and artistic promise.

The initial recipients of the Hartsook Fellowship are Elizabeth King Humphrey, a fiction writer from Wilmington, NC, and Paul Gasbarra, a poet from Oklahoma City. Both students will graduate this spring and will use the funding to concentrate on completing their book-length master’s theses.

Housed in one of the only independent creative writing departments in the country, UNCW’s MFA program rapidly has gained a national reputation. A recent review by the Associated Writing Programs, which oversees 320 creative writing programs in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., said UNCW has positioned itself “to compete with the oldest and most prestigious creative writing programs in North America.”

Applications to the program, which offers courses in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and publishing, have increased by almost 100 percent in the past three years. In another indication of the quality of the program, three of its alumni have placed books with nationally prominent publishing houses in the same three-year period.

In 1987, Robert Hartsook founded Hartsook and Associates, now Hartsook Companies, Inc. The firm has conducted more than 1,200 campaigns ranging from $500,000 to more than $1 billion, which have raised many billions of dollars for nonprofit organizations nationwide. In 2002, the firm conducted more than 200 campaigns in 40 states.

Through the years, Dr. Hartsook has written for many leading fundraising publications, including The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Nonprofit Times, Fund Raising Management, NSFRE News and Planned Giving Today. Mr. Hartsook also has written four books, the most recent of which, Nobody Wants to Give Money Away!, was released last April. It explores the nine fundraising truths essential to success through stories, humor and more than two decades of fundraising experience. Another of his books, Closing That Gift!, is in its third printing and is highly recommended reading by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, CASE Currents and other national journals.

He also is the author of How to Get Million Dollar Gifts and Have Donors Thank You! and co-author of Getting Your Ducks in a Row! All four books are published by ASR Philanthropic Publishing (www.ASRpublishing.com).

Before starting Hartsook Companies, Inc., he served as vice president of Colby Community College, Washburn University and Wichita State University, all in Kansas. At Wichita State, he served as president of the Board of Trustees.

He holds a bachelor of arts in economics, a master’s degree in counseling, a law degree and a doctorate in education. His son Austin lives with him on Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

Located between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington ranks as one of the best comprehensive universities in the South. Though it remains committed to undergraduate education, its graduate programs continue to play a crucial role in its success. Fall semester 2002, the MFA in Creative Writing was joined by another terminal degree program, a doctoral program in marine biology. The Ph.D. in Marine Biology is a natural outgrowth of UNCW’s internationally recognized undergraduate marine biology program and its $17.5 million Center for Marine Science.



###



To reach Mark Cox, call 910/962-7063.