Evansville Creative Writing Department receives grant for local school program

Student Writers of Indiana, a program in the University of Evansville’s Department of Creative Writing, has received a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission that will help it send students to local schools to provide education to underserved children.

The grant, which totals $2,960, will help fund the cost of producing anthologies of students’ work, space rentals, postage, training and classroom supplies.

“Studies show that arts education has a dramatic impact on the learning experience in general, especially for underserved students,” Margaret McMullan, a professor of creative writing who co-directs the program, said. “This program not only impacts local youth and [Evansville] students, but also inspires teachers and community leaders to further support the arts.”

Student Writers of Indiana helped approximately 1,200 students at 10 schools in its first year (2011) after being established with a $21,000 grant from the Ball Brothers Foundation Venture Fund. Since then, the program has continued to develop. Coordinators hope to reach out to students across the state through an annual competition, and an annual anthology will showcase the best work from around the state and be distributed to school libraries.