The School of Drama at UNCSA has announced a $1 million gift from acclaimed actor and two-time Tony Award-winning director of stage and screen Joe Mantello, a graduate of the school’s class of ’84. The gift will fund two key initiatives for the school: The Joe Mantello Endowed Scholarship in Drama, a prestigious scholarship designed to attract and support top students, and the Joe Mantello Creative Catalyst Endowed Fund for Drama, a fund dedicated to supporting student-driven productions.
The gift is the largest alumni gift on record for the School of Drama and will be vital in helping to prepare graduates for meaningful careers in the arts, following in the footsteps of alumni such as Mantello.
The Joe Mantello Endowed Scholarship in Drama will be a full-ride scholarship that will support one recipient at a time through their four years of undergraduate study at UNCSA. Prospective recipients will be identified through the School of Drama’s rigorous national audition process and selected by the dean of Drama on the basis of their skill, dedication and demonstrated commitment to their art form. The inaugural scholarship will be awarded to a student matriculating in fall 2025…