FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 3, 2006

André Bernard appointed Vice President and Secretary of the Guggenheim Foundation

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has named a legendary editor and publisher to succeed G. Thomas Tanselle, who will step down as Senior Vice President and Secretary in September after twenty-eight years in office.  André Bernard is currently Vice President and Publisher of Harcourt, Inc., where he has successfully overseen the adult trade division.  He has been an editor at Viking Penguin, David Godine, Simon & Schuster, and Book of the Month Club, where he was Executive Editor and Director of Acquisitions for five years.  He joined Harcourt in 1996.

Edward Hirsch, President of the Foundation, has said: “There is nobody better suited by character and temperament to help guide the Foundation in the 21st Century.  I am delighted to welcome him to an institution that is deeply cherished by so many people.”  Mr. Bernard will oversee the Foundation’s two Fellowship competitions—the U.S./Canadian and the Latin American/Caribbean programs.  He will coordinate the $8.5 million grant program.

André Bernard replaces G. Thomas Tanselle, who has been at the center of the Guggenheim Foundation for nearly three decades, serving as its Vice President and Corporate Secretary.  More than anyone else, he embodies the rich tradition of the Foundation.  Mr. Tanselle is a distinguished textual scholar and one of the country’s leading bibliographers.

Established in 1925 by Senator Simon Guggenheim and Mrs. Guggenheim as a memorial to a son who died at age seventeen, the Foundation offers year-long Fellowships to artists, scholars, and scientists through a yearly competition.  Since 1925, according to Mr. Hirsch, the Foundation has granted over $248 million in Fellowships to over 16,000 individuals.

The Foundation congratulates and welcomes André Bernard and wishes G. Thomas Tanselle the very best in years to come.

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