Call for Applications: 2023 FOCWG Symposium

FOCWG, Mellon, News

Funded by the Mellon Foundation and New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC), the Faculty of Color Working Group (FoCWG) invites applications for this year’s virtual symposium scheduled for Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13, 2023 themed “The Corporate University and Shrinking BIPOC Supports: Where Do We Go from Here?” Our conversations will be led by stellar thinkers and advocates, such as keynote Dr. Lorgia García Peña (Tufts) and presenters Drs. Davarian Baldwin (Trinity College), Sandy Grande (UConn), and Touba Ghadessi (Wheaton College). Speakers will take up such concerns as the impacts of neoliberal environments on gender non-conforming faculty of color; how to navigate and transform campus climates that are unapologetically guided by employee economic precarity; racism, sexism, xeno, homo, and trans-phobias; unchecked supremacies; institutional legacies of indigenous land theft; and disempowered Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs whose role in radical organizational change must be assessed using data, rather than assumed.

Please note that space will be limited to ensure a high level of interaction among all participants, and the application deadline is March 15, 2023. Please see the full call for applications for details.

Call for Applications. Faculty of Color Working Group Mellon Mentors Program. Apply by May 31, 2022.

Applications Now Open for FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program 2022–2023

FOCWG, News

The FOCWG invites applications for participation in the 2022–2023 cohort of the FOCWG Mellon Mentors program. The FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program aims to partner early-career BIPOC faculty with trained senior mentors to create enduring professional relationships that will provide guidance, resources, and support to early career scholars as they cement their foothold in academia. The goal of the FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program is the creation of mentoring cohorts that offer multiple models of mentoring and expands the network of support for program participants.

Applications are due May 31, 2022. Please see the full call for applications for more details.

Call for Applications: 2022 FOCWG Symposium

FOCWG, Mellon, News

Funded by the Mellon Foundation and New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC), the Faculty of Color Working Group (FoCWG) invites applications for a virtual symposium scheduled for Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14, 2022 themed “Renewal.” The symposium includes several workshops by distinguished faculty, social hours, and opportunities for in-person gatherings for those in the New England area. Workshop presenters include Dr. Christina Sharpe (York University), Dr. Jamila Michener (Cornell University), Dr. Stephanie Evans (Georgia State University), Dr. Nitasha Tamar Sharma (Northwestern University), Dr. Laura Fugikawa (Colby College), Melody Barnes, JD (University of Virginia), and Dr. Sarah Willie-LeBreton (Swarthmore College).

Please note that space will be limited to ensure a high level of interaction among all participants, and the application deadline is April 1, 2022. Please see the full call for applications for details.

Call for Applications: Faculty fo Color Working Group Mellon Fellowships. Apply by March 15, 2022.

Call for Applications: 2022–23 Mellon Faculty Fellowships

Mellon, News

With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New England Humanities Consortium’s Faculty of Color Working Group is pleased to accept applications for two (2) Mellon Faculty Fellowships in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences for the 2022–2023 academic year. The fellowship is intended for faculty from historically disadvantaged racial groups or those whose projects specifically confront institutional blocks for BIPOC faculty. Full-time assistant and associate professors on the tenure-track at their home institutions are eligible to apply.

Applications are open to any faculty member from historically disadvantaged racial groups at NEHC member institutions, which include Amherst College, Brown University, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, Smith College, Tufts University, University of Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, University of Vermont, Wellesley College, and Wheaton College.

Criteria for successful applicants include but are not limited to: quality of research proposal; strength of reference letters; stage of tenure/promotion dossier preparation and fulfillment of tenure and promotion requirements; scholar’s support needs to fulfill these requirements; likelihood of support or failure thereof related to scholar’s professional advancement at home institution; likelihood of applicant to contribute to a larger support network for faculty of color in the region and/or to understanding and addressing the impediments to success for FOC in higher education.

The Mellon Faculty Fellows will receive a stipend of $40,000 and $2,500 for moving expenses if needed. Awards will be given to the successful applicant’s home institution (the institution that formally employs them as faculty). Fellows will be in residence at a host institution (the institution at which the fellow spends the fellowship year). Both institutions need to be NEHC members.

We recommend that applicants contact potential host institutions and faculty as early as possible to discuss possible arrangements. While the host institution does not pay salary or benefits to the Fellow while they are in residence, they are expected to provide the benefits to the visiting Fellow typically granted to visiting faculty and academic professionals.

The Mellon Fellows will be expected to give at least one public lecture or its equivalent at the hosting institute or center. The lecture will be publicized by the FOCWG and the NEHC.

Each application must include a:

  1. Completed cover sheet form (on Interfolio), including contact information for two references
  2. A proposal narrative (3 pages max.)
  3. A short CV (3 pages max.)
  4. A letter from a NEHC member institute or center director indicating support for hosting the fellow during the fellowship year.

To receive full consideration applications should conform to our application guidelines.

All documents must be submitted to Interfolio by March 15, 2022 at 11:59 pm (EST).

Applicants to this position receive a free Interfolio Dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge.

Faculty of Color Working Group logo

Applications Now Open for FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program

FOCWG, News

The FOCWG invites applications for participation in the inaugural cohort of the FOCWG Mellon Mentors program. The FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program aims to partner early-career BIPOC faculty with trained senior mentors to create enduring professional relationships that will provide guidance, resources, and support to early career scholars as they cement their foothold in academia. The goal of the FOCWG Mellon Mentors Program is the creation of mentoring cohorts that offer multiple models of mentoring and expands the network of support for program participants.

Applications are due July 31, 2021. See the full call for applications for more details.

Call for Applications: 2021 FOCWG Symposium

FOCWG, News, Tufts

Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC), and the University of Connecticut, the Faculty of Color Working Group (FOCWG) invites applications for a virtual symposium hosted by Tufts University scheduled for Wednesday May 26 – Friday May 28, 2021 themed “Politics, Pedagogy, and the Public Humanities.” This community and support-building event for FOC, continues the enthusiasm generated during the first regional FOCWG gathering, on May 10, 2019. The symposium includes a keynote by Dr. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Princeton), workshops by Dr. Noliwe Rooks (Cornell), Dr. Gabrielle Foreman (Penn State), Dr. Kyla Wazana Tompkins (Pomona), and Dr. Nicole Aljoe (Northeastern), social hours, and opportunities for one-on-one meetings with publishers.

Please note that space will be limited to ensure a high level of interaction among all participants, and the application deadline has been extended to April 23, 2021. Please see the full call for applications for details.

NEHC FOCWG

Call for Applications: 2021–22 NEHC Faculty of Color Working Group Mellon Faculty Fellowship

FOCWG, Mellon, News

With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the New England Humanities Consortium’s Faculty of Color Working Group is pleased to accept applications for two (2) Mellon Faculty Fellowships in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences for the 2021–2022 academic year. The fellowship is intended for full-time faculty members from historically disadvantaged racial groups or those whose projects specifically confront institutional blocks for BIPOC faculty.

Applicants are limited to faculty from NEHC member institutions, which include Amherst College, Brown University, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, Smith College, Tufts University, University of Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, University of Vermont, Wellesley College, and Wheaton College.

Applicant eligibility is determined by the following criteria:

  1. Must be faculty at a NEHC member institution
  2. Research must have high relevance for addressing the support needs of and/or issues and obstacles faced by BIPOC faculty at PWIs
  3. Demonstration of a viable research project
  4. A research project in the humanities/humanistic sciences

Criteria for successful applicants include, but are not limited to: quality of research proposal; strength of reference letters; stage of tenure/promotion dossier preparation and fulfillment of tenure and promotion requirements; scholar’s support needs to fulfill these requirements; likelihood of support or failure thereof related to scholar’s professional advancement at home institution; likelihood of applicant to contribute to a larger support network for faculty of color in the region and/or to understanding and addressing the impediments to success for FOC in higher education. Fellows should not teach during the fellowship year.

The Mellon Faculty of Color Fellowship program seeks to relieve scholars of these institutional hindrances by providing resources to reduce many of the barriers that make it difficult for faculty of color to research, think, and engage in their transformative work at their home institutions. These fellowships will provide resources that will allow them the time and space to focus on their scholarship away from the typical demands levied on their own campuses. Fellows will spend their fellowship year at a NEHC host institution with opportunities to interact with a broad and relevant intellectual community.

The Mellon Faculty Fellows will receive a stipend of $40,000 and a $2,500 moving expense if needed. The award funds will be remitted to the successful applicant’s home institution (the institution that formally employs them as faculty), who will use the funds to offset the fellow's salary and benefits. Fellows will be in residence at a host institution (the institution at which the fellow spends the fellowship year). Both institutions must be NEHC members. While the host institution does not pay salary or benefits to the Fellow while they are in residence, they are expected to provide the professional amenities to the visiting Fellow typically granted to visiting faculty and scholars.

The Mellon Fellows will be expected to give at least one public lecture or its equivalent at the hosting institute or center. The lecture will be publicized by the FOCWG and the NEHC.

Each application must contain:

  1. A Short Curriculum Vitae (3 pages max.)
  2. A Proposal Narrative (3 pages/1500 words max.)
  3. A Letter from a NEHC Institute/Center Director indicating support for hosting the fellow during the fellowship year.

To receive full consideration applications should conform to our application guidelines..

All documents must be submitted to Interfolio by February 1, 2021 at 11:59 pm (EST).

Applicants to this position receive a free Interfolio Dossier account and can send all application materials, including confidential letters of recommendation, free of charge.

Faculty of Color Working Group logo

Call for Applications: 2021–22 UCHI Faculty of Color Working Group Fellowship

FOCWG, News, University of Connecticut

With the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of Connecticut, UCHI, together with the Faculty of Color Working Group of the New England Humanities Consortium, is pleased to accept applications for the UCHI/FOCWG Faculty Fellowship for the 2021-2022 academic year. The fellowship is intended for full-time UConn faculty members from historically disadvantaged minority groups and/or those whose projects specifically confront institutional blocks for BIPOC faculty.

Criteria for successful applicants include, but are not limited to: quality of research proposal; strength of reference letters; and articulation within the proposal of how this project can contribute to a larger support network for faculty of color in the region and/or to understanding and addressing impediments to success for BIPOC faculty in higher education.

Applications for the UCHI/FOCWG Fellowship are due on February 1st and should be submitted through UCHI’s regular fellowship application portal on Interfolio. All submission requirements are identical to regular UCHI Humanities fellowships; and applicants will be assessed by the same interdisciplinary review panel of outside academics. When applying, we ask that you indicate on the application form that you would like to be considered for the UCHI/FOCWG Fellowship. Indicating that you would like to be considered for the UCHI/FOCWG Fellowship does not preclude you from being offered a UCHI Fellowship—indeed, any application for the UCHI/FOCWG fellowship is considered as an application for a standard UCHI fellowship.

UCHI/FOCWG Fellows are full members of the UCHI fellowship class and have all the same benefits and responsibilities. See here for fellowship application materials and further information on the fellowship program.

APPLY NOW

Faculty of Color Workshop 2019. Photo of all participants posing for pictures on the main front steps of a building.

UConn Humanities Institute Awarded Mellon Grant to Expand the Faculty of Color Working Group

Mellon, News

humanities.uconn.edu

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a three-year grant of $750,000 to the University of Connecticut for the Humanities Institute to expand the New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC) Faculty of Color Working Group (FOCWG). The thirteen member institutions of the Consortium support programming in humanities fields such as history, politics, language, art, literature, and philosophy.

Following a 2018 Mellon Foundation $100,000 grant that permitted a pilot phase, faculty of color at NEHC member institutions created and led the Faculty of Color Working Group (FOCWG) for the purpose of increasing mentorship, community building, and dedicated time for scholarly production among faculty of color. Coupled with the development of the NEHC’s social media and publicity, through cross-institutional networks, research and teaching mentorship, and fellowships, the Mellon Foundation grant enables FOCWG to bolster faculty success across schools in the region and the nation.

The Principal investigator for the program is Michael P. Lynch, director of the UConn Humanities Institute, director of NEHC and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Philosophy. Co-principal investigators are Melina Pappademos, director of the UConn Africana Studies Institute, associate professor of history, and director of the Faculty of Color Working Group; and Alexis L. Boylan, director of academic affairs of the UConn Humanities Institute and associate professor of art and art history and Africana Studies.

“With generous support from the Mellon Foundation, this initiative recognizes the environmental obstacles and, at times, outright hostilities to professional advancement that faculty of color face at predominantly white institutions. FOCWG seeks to address these institutional failures by enabling scholarly productivity and professional relationships, even self-care, as safe-guards for aggregated individual success,” says Pappademos. “The FOCWG challenges institutions to dismantle rather than uphold their inflexible structures designed and defended to advantage some faculty members over others.“

In addition to UConn, the consortium includes Amherst College, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Northeastern University, Tufts University, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, University of Vermont, Wellesley College, and Wheaton College.

The FOCWG provides an urgently needed pathway for faculty of color to navigate the particular challenges they face in academic life. As part of a large network of institutions, the FOCWG grant will develop collaborative fellowship and mentoring opportunities to produce outcomes unachievable by any single institution.

The core activities made possible by the grant include:

  • Organizing an annual conference for faculty of color that will be the centerpiece of activities and outreach, which will include crucial professional dialogues on panel topics such as publishing, tenure and promotion and the challenge of transitioning into administrative roles. The conference will include pre-conference and post-conference interviews and surveys.
  • Development of a mentorship program to identify and train senior faculty mentors throughout the New England Humanities Consortium to offer a resource for faculty of color at all stages of their careers, including those holding administrative positions, in the region.
  • Establishment of The Mellon Faculty of Color Fellowship program, that will create opportunities for faculty to spend a year as a research fellow at another Consortium institution’s humanities institute or center contributing to cross-pollination across the Consortium while furthering faculty’s individual research.

There will also be increased support for NEHC administrative functions including a separate FOCWG website, expanded social media presence and creation of an Instagram account to attract younger generation students and scholars, particularly those who attend liberal arts institutions.

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