The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts recently awarded Martin Cockroft, assistant professor of English at Waynesburg University, a $5,000 Individual Creative Artists Fellowship grant.

The grants are awarded each year in dance, traditional arts, literature, media arts, music, theatre and visual arts. Mr. Cockroft will use the money to pay entry fees associated with submitting a book-length manuscript of poems to university and independent presses.

Mr. Cockroft also received the university's Scholarship and Research Award, which is intended to provide tenure track faculty with opportunities to do research.

• The Washington County Community Foundation has created the Director's Choice Award, a $10,000 grant that will be awarded each year to a small but growing charitable organization, in honor of its executive director Betsie Trew.

During her 10-year tenure as the foundation's first and only full-time executive director, foundation assets have grown from $250,000 in 1998 to more than $5 million at the end of 2007, said Carlyn Belczyk, board chairwoman.

The award will be presented each year during the foundation's Legacy Gala in June.