Thirty high school teachers from five Southern states took advantage of a learning opportunity of a lifetime this past summer. Along with other Faulkner fans from throughout America and the world, they attended the University's 26th annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference July 25-30 free of charge, thanks to a new fellowship awarded for the first time this year.

English and literature instructors in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee received Saks Incorporated Fellowships, newly created on behalf of McRae's, Proffitt's, and Parisian department stores.

The fellowships, made possible by a four-year, $200,000 gift from the Saks Incorporated Foundation to further the study of the Nobel Prize-winning author at the secondary school level, will make it possible for 120 teachers to attend Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha conferences through the year 2002.

Donald M. Kartiganer, director of the conference and William Howry Professor of Faulkner Studies, said the Saks Incorporated Fellowships will make an extraordinary contribution to the conference by giving secondary school teachers the opportunity to attend this internationally recognized event, which in turn will enable these educators to introduce Faulkner to their students. "The result should be very much in keeping with one of the purposes of the conference," said Kartiganer, "which is to bring Faulkner to a larger, more general audience."

The Saks Fellowships link one of the nation's and the region's premier retailing names with one of its most respected literary figures. "With our corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, our corporate operations center in Jackson, Mississippi, and the extensive operations of our McRae's, Parisian, and Proffitt's businesses in the Southeast, the associates of Saks Incorporated are deeply connected to Southern culture,"said Brad Martin, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Saks Incorporated. "No element of that culture is more treasured than the literary tradition of our great Southern writers. Our sponsorship of these Faulkner Conference Fellowships is intended to provide high school teachers in our communities with an opportunity to broaden their awareness and understanding of the importance and relevance of these great works."

Michael Harrelson