A $4.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
will strengthen graduate education in four humanities departments in the
College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
The grant, announced March 26, will join $2.76 million in
funding from the University - most to be raised in private dollars - to
create the Mellon Graduate Fellowship Program. It will support graduate
students in the departments of English and comparative literature,
history, philosophy and religious studies.
The Mellon Foundation grant will help fund the program's first five
years, as well as make up most of an endowment to provide permanent
funding. Most of UNC's contribution will go toward the endowment via a
drive to raise $2 million in private support.
""This program will enhance our ability to compete for the best graduate
students in the humanities from around the world," said Bruce Carney,
interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We've been at a
competitive disadvantage with some prominent universities because we
didn't have as many fellowships that offer relief from teaching duties
during the crucial first and final years of graduate study. The Mellon
fellowship program will go a long way toward addressing that challenge.
In fact, I have told the department chairs to use the newly arrived
funds to help with this year's recruitment of the top students."
"At the same time, Mellon Fellows will teach in our classrooms, giving
them valuable experience and exposing our undergraduate students to
exceptionally bright young minds."
"Our ability to attract outstanding graduate students is absolutely
essential to our academic reputation and prominence," added UNC
Chancellor Holden Thorp. "They inspire our faculty to do their best work
and they produce first-rate scholarship in their own right. As teachers
they enhance the quality of our undergraduate education. So we're very
grateful for the Mellon Foundation's generosity. Providing more support
for graduate students ranks among our top priorities."
Bernadette Gray-Little, executive vice chancellor and provost, said
graduate student support is particularly critical for the humanities.
"In 2004, the last year for which we have national data, less than 9
percent of doctoral degrees went to humanities students," she said.
"That underscores the need for programs like this partnership we've
undertaken with the Mellon Foundation."
Starting in the 2009-10 academic year, the Mellon Graduate Fellowship
Program will fund 12 fellowships in an initial five-year pilot phase,
with four Mellon Graduate Fellows enrolling every other year. After
that, five fellows will enroll every other year on a permanent basis.
The Mellon Graduate Fellowships will be shared evenly among the four
supported departments. Each fellowship will be worth $33,000 per year
for five years, including stipend, tuition, fees and health insurance.
During their first year, Mellon Fellows will focus exclusively on
coursework; during the last year solely on the dissertation. In years
two, three and four, fellows will develop experience as undergraduate
teachers while also pursuing their doctoral studies.
Among UNC's most respected academic programs, the departments in English
and comparative literature, history, philosophy and religious studies
train a majority of graduate students in Carolina's humanities
disciplines - on average 375 annually. Most of their faculty members
have won teaching awards, and 33 have earned the title of distinguished
professor.
Headquartered in New York City, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports
six core program areas: higher education and scholarship; scholarly
communications; research in information technology; museums and art
conservation; performing arts; and conservation and the environment.
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