California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) has been awarded a $444,832 subgrant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to encourage more undergraduate students from underrepresented minority groups (URM), including African American, Latino/a, Native American, and other students committed to diversity, to pursue Ph.D.s in the humanities.
The subgrant is part of a larger $2,211,000 award to the CSU Foundation to establish Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) programs at five CSU Southern California campuses–Dominguez Hills, Fullerton, Long Beach, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles. The Mellon Foundation’s centerpiece program, MMUF, aims to address the lack of diversity among university faculty.
“The Mellon Foundation’s goals with the fellowship program are precisely in line with those set forth at CSU Dominguez Hills,” says CSUDH Provost Michael Spagna. “Social justice is part of our DNA, and the goal of the MMUF to achieve parity in academia for underrepresented minorities is one that we share at the university.”
Information sessions on the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, including application instructions, will take place:
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2 to 3 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 21, 1 to 2 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m. to noon.
The sessions will take place in the College of Arts and Humanities Dean’s Conference Room, North Library 5084.
The CSUDH Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship will provide students with an intensive and deeply rewarding experience combining research, creativity, scholarship, mentorship, and peer support to prepare them for further study toward a Ph.D. The fellowship will support four new CSUDH students annually, for a total of 20 students studying in Mellon-designated humanities fields across the CSU consortium each year. Fellows from the five campuses will participate annually in a shared CSU Consortium Orientation and an eight-week First Summer Fellowship Program.
“Diversifying our faculty is one of our highest priorities to guarantee the ongoing vibrancy and relevancy of the humanities, and directing Dominguez Hills students to careers in the academe is an effective way of achieving this goal,” said Mitch Avila, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. “Their contribution to shaping the narratives and the culture of our shared civil society will enrich lives in all corners of our world for decades to come. We couldn’t be more excited than to partner with the Mellon Foundation and our CSU colleagues in this important effort.”
CSUDH is federally recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution, as a Minority Serving Institution, and has the highest enrollment of African American students of any other California public university. There are approximately 1,200 URM students in CSUDH’s College of Arts and Humanities.
For more information, visit www.csudh.edu/mellonmays.
