Alcolu woman elected to state Humanities Board of Directors

Posted
Alcolu resident Mary Ellen Fuller has been elected to a three-year term on the South Carolina Humanities Board of Directors. Fuller was elected at the September board meeting in Columbia and began her term Nov. 1. In her new position, she represents the entire state, with concentration on Lee, Clarendon and Sumter counties. Fuller has lived in South Carolina for more than 20 years. She first moved to Fort Mill as design director for Springs Industries. It was her career in home furnishings that immersed her within the arts community by guiding world-wide artists and recognizing and promoting their talents, she said. Her travels have led her to create concepts for clients in the United States and other countries. She won the industry's "Oscar" for those efforts. Fuller spearheaded the S.C. Humanities Festival for Sumter County in 2011. She has also curated a sculpture exhibit and a photography/poetry exhibit at Patriot Hall in Sumter. Fuller is the daughter of a Cold War-era attorney and negotiator James B. Donovan, whose role in the trial and exchange of spies is the subject of the 2015 Steven Spielberg film "Bridge of Spies." Donovan's book "Strangers on a Bridge," is a first-hand account of the same historical events, and a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. S.C. Humanities is the state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Governed by 23 volunteer public and academic members, the organization awards more than $200,000 annually in grants for statewide programs and sponsors the annual South Carolina Humanities Festival.