Alumna selected as an inaugural Mellon Faculty Fellow
Stephanie Jones, an assistant professor of education at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and an alumna of the University of Georgia College of Education, was selected as a new Mellon Faculty Fellow by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for her commitment to applying and including diverse backgrounds and perspectives to learning, scholarship and service.
The Mellon Faculty Fellowship aims to enhance the diversity of new faculty who teach at liberal arts colleges, while also enhancing their careers and teaching programs. The program funds each fellow's salary and benefits for two years and guarantees a half-time teaching load for at least the first year.
"Implementing diversity initiatives like the Mellon Faculty Fellows program means that higher education is ready to support the hiring and mentoring of diverse faculty," said Jones, who graduated from the College with a Ph.D. in language and literacy education in 2016. "It is a great honor to have been named one of the Mellon Faculty Fellows for this year."
In addition to full salary support, each fellow will be paired with a faculty mentor and have opportunities for professional development and networking with other faculty fellows in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), a consortium of independent liberal arts colleges in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado.
"It is no question that the mentorship and professional development opportunities afforded by this grant will help me move towards my goal as a tenured professor," said Jones. "With those aims in mind, I plan on teaching and publishing scholarship that highlights how diversity, in all forms, can help shift what schooling can provide for students."
As part of her fellowship, Jones—along with the program's five other Fellows—will participate in a two-day summit to share her latest research and to network and collaborate with undergraduate students of color at colleges affiliated with the ACM.
The Mellon Faculty Fellowships are open to all qualified candidates, especially to those from underrepresented groups in the professoriate.