Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF)

 I. History and Mission

In 1988 the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation launched a program designed to increase the number of African-American, Latino/a, and American Indian faculty members at U.S. colleges and universities by providing academically promising students from these groups with mentoring, opportunities for conducting independent research, skills development, and initiation into the academic life. Wesleyan’s Mellon Program has been in existence since 1989, and received its fourth round of funding in 2000. Of the 100-plus PhDs who have emerged from the MMUF as of the spring of 2004, 4 are Wesleyan alumni and 9 are currently in graduate school in PhD programs.

In 2003, in response to the Supreme Court decisions in the two University of Michigan affirmative-action cases and to persistent attacks on race-based programs at U.S. institutions of higher learning, the Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to the Fellowship and broadened its mission. At the same time, the Foundation renamed the program to connect its mission to the societal, scholarly, and educational commitments and achievements of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays (1894–1984), a life-long champion of civil rights, a distinguished scholar of religion, mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr., and president of Morehouse College from 1940 to 1967.

The MMUF mission statement now reads: “The fundamental objective of MMUF is to increase the number of minority students, and others with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial disparities, who will pursue PhDs in core fields in the arts and sciences. The program aims to reduce over time the serious underrepresentation on faculties of individuals from certain minority groups, as well as to address the attendant educational consequences of these disparities. The program serves the related goals of structuring campus environments so that they will be more conducive to improved racial and ethnic relations, and of providing role models for all youth.”

II. Eligibility

The MMUF does not exclude applicants on the basis of their race or ethnicity. What counts is an individual’s determination and ability to fulfill the program’s mission. The criteria that are weighed when applicants are being considered for acceptance into the Fellowship are as follows:

1) Academic promise;

2) A strong interest in pursuing an academic career in the fields of study designated by the Foundation (see Section III below);

3) Potential for serving as a mentor and teacher for a wide variety of students;

4) Race and ethnicity (in relation to underrepresentation among faculty in the designated fields of study);

5) A demonstrated commitment to increasing opportunities for underrepresented minorities, breaking down stereotypes, increasing cross-racial and -ethnic understanding, and enabling others to understand better persons of different racial and ethnic backgrounds;

6) A commitment to participating fully and enthusiastically in all aspects of the MMUF program, including attendance at conferences and meetings;

7) Status as a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Decisions on admission are made on a case-by-case basis, with reference to the criteria named above. No quotas are applied.

III. The Mellon-Designated Fields

After careful research, the Mellon Foundation initially decided to focus its efforts on the fields in which it judged the under-representation of faculty of color to be most acute:

• Humanities: languages and literatures, philosophy, history, religious studies, art history, musicology

• Social sciences: anthropology, demography

• Mathematics

• Natural sciences: earth and environmental sciences, physics, astrophysics

• Area, ethnic, and gender studies.

Two years ago the fields of sociology and computer science were added to the list.

IV. Deadline

Applications, with letters of recommendation, are due in the office of the Associate Coordinator by 3 PM on Thursday, March 6, 2008.

V. Selection

The MMUF selects up to five new Fellows each year. These are sophomores who have shown distinct academic promise and express a more than casual interest in joining the professoriate. Occasionally juniors will be admitted to round out a cohort. The Fellows are expected to major in one of the fields listed above. Because Wesleyan does not have a major in demography, economics majors can be considered, provided they have an interest in demography or are doing substantial work in area/ethnic studies or other Foundation-designated fields.

The Program does not expect applicants to be fully developed scholars; nor is it essential that they rank at the top of their class. What applicants must have is intellectual curiosity and creativity, and the qualities of mind and character that will enable them to withstand the rigors of the long journey toward a PhD and to become effective, committed teachers and productive scholars.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Coordinator: Krishna Winston, Prof. of German Studies, Ext. 3378/kwinston

Associate Coordinator: Renée Johnson-Thornton, Ext. 3084/rjohnson01