Middlebury, VT— National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that New England Review, a publication of Middlebury College, is one of 895 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. New England Review is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support the publication and promotion of the quarterly literary journal in print and digital formats.

During the grant period (January through December 2014), New England Review will publish four issues of the journal in print and digital editions; contribute new audio, video, and original writing to its website; and continue building an audience of readers. Funds requested from the NEA will be used to support publishing expenses, including increased writers’ fees, as well as digital outreach and marketing.

Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable experiences for the public to engage with the arts."

Carolyn Kuebler, who will assume the role of Editor of NER during the 2014 funding period, said, “We are thrilled to receive the support of the NEA, which will allow us to increase payments to authors for the first time in twenty years, and will support our ongoing efforts to make great new writing available to a wider audience.”

Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence: public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancing the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,528 eligible Art Works applications, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 895 are recommended for grants for a total of $ 23.4 million.

New England Review (NER), a publication of Middlebury College, cultivates artistic excellence and innovation in contemporary writers and engages readers deeply in the literary arts through its quarterly publication, dynamic web presence, and quarterly public reading series. Every issue of NER features new works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, translations from many languages in many genres, and essays on film, music, painting, and more. NER makes room in its pages for literary experimentation as well as the imaginative use of conventions, for essays that engage deeply with our immediate surroundings as well as those that elucidate other time periods, cultures, and places. From the painstaking selection process through careful editing and presentation, NER works closely with writers as they perfect their art, and in turn offers their work to the public in a variety of formats.

The Middlebury College Phi Beta Kappa chapter inducted 11 students as new members at a ceremony at Kirk Alumni Center on Saturday, Oct. 12. The ceremony and reception took place over the college’s Fall Family Weekend.

The students, all of whom are members of the Class of 2014, are Ellery Matsuko Berk, Emily Amanda Colton, Rebecca J. Crochiere, Lindsey Derrick Hunt, Alexandra Kathleen Kennedy, Madeline Wren Mailly, Sarah Henry Pollnow, Mary Katherine Robinson, Connor Daniel Wakayama, Tian Xue and Lindong Zhou. They have qualified to be Phi Beta Kappa members based on their academic records for the past three years.

At the ceremony, each of the students wears an historic Phi Beta Kappa key from alumni, the oldest of which is the Jeremiah Atwater key dating back to 1793.

New PBK members take a look at the historic keys from alumni, which they wear during the ceremony.

Prof. Don Wyatt welcomes a new member.

Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776, is the nation's oldest academic honor society. The Middlebury College chapter, the Beta chapter of Vermont, was established in 1868 and is the 13th oldest Phi Beta Kappa chapter in existence.

Additional members of the senior class may be elected to Phi Beta Kappa in May, on the basis of their academic work during the last four years.

As one of the "charter chapters," the Middlebury chapter is free to establish its own criteria for the election of students to Phi Beta Kappa, and is not governed by election rules established by the national society. The members of the Middlebury chapter are those members of the Middlebury faculty who were themselves elected to Phi Beta Kappa by their undergraduate institutions.

Photos: May Mantell