NEW ORLEANS – Thanks to a new $1.5 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Tulane University’s Mellon Graduate Program in Community-Engaged Scholarship is set to widen its scope to include undergraduates, new community relationships through more public events and more work on a national level.
“Learning through multidisciplinary collaborations and engagement with community leaders and culture bearers is central to the Tulane experience and is the Mellon program’s primary goal. We are grateful for this new Mellon Foundation grant which will increase opportunities for our students while expanding our partnerships with organizations that serve our neighbors in New Orleans and throughout the world,” said Tulane President Michael Fitts.
A cohort of 20 participants meets regularly for two years through the Mellon Graduate Program. Each cohort has 12 graduate students, or “Mellon Fellows,” four Tulane faculty members and four community representatives with differing kinds of expertise.
Most professors are from the School of Liberal Arts, but participation is open to Tulane’s other eight schools. The community partners represent organizations such as ACORN International, the American Friends Service Committee, the Ashé Cultural Arts Center and Project Ishmael.
