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The Fireface seems like overkill for NPR-like VO work - you want the best single channel strip you can put together for him so that it sounds great on voice.
Swapping to the Apogee Duet from the Fireface gives you $800 to play with. For me, I really like the way the Summit 2BA-221 sounds on my voice and use it in front of my 002R. They're $700 new. Or you could opt for a channel strip from folks like Joe Meek, Focusrite, etc. While not as good as top studio stuff, it may be easier to "set and forget" eq and compression to his liking and get it in.
Logic Express sounds like the way to go - or is Garageband good enough?
Headphones - I am not sure why you need both the Grado and a set of isolation headphones; I use the AKG271 studio headphones ($200) which are isolating (much more than the 141s or 241s that many use) and they prevent bleed into the microphone.
Be sure to also budget $100-150 for:
Cables - don't scrimp on that one channel. Redco makes excellent cables if you don't want store bought.
Mic stand - multiple companies make the kind that can clamp onto a desk and swing away, similar to radio stations. Or just buy a boom stand.
pop filter
I'd hold off on monitors for now. Since he's shooting for an NPR type sound, take the mixes off headphones and go play in the car, in the home stereo, on an ipod.
New is good for most of this, but I wouldn't be afraid to buy some of the mic pres or channel strips new - could stretch your dollars even more. ebay, craigslist can be your friend and you can save on tax (you did factor that in, right?)
Good luck and let us know what he ends up getting.
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