The Mellon Foundation aims to support and enrich the humanities and the arts, with a special focus on higher education and scholarship, by funding various programs that enhance the quality of education and the diversity of voices within academia. It seeks to ensure that a wide range of perspectives, especially those historically underrepresented, are included and valued in academic discourse and research.
The MMUF Advancement Program and MMUF Dissertation Grants are specifically designed for alumni of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) program to support their progress in academia. The program's broad goal is to create a diverse faculty pipeline in higher education by providing support at crucial stages of their academic careers. This includes preparing for graduate school applications, funding additional research, and offering professional support throughout their dissertation. The initiative addresses the challenge of the historical exclusion of diverse perspectives from higher education by fostering a community where young adults have broader access to a variety of viewpoints, enhancing their understanding of people from all backgrounds. The MMUF Dissertation Grants, which can go up to $30,000 for a 12-month period, aim to aid doctoral candidates at the critical juncture of completing their graduate degrees, encouraging institutions to waive tuition and promoting self-arrangement for health insurance coverage among awardees. Through this, the grants look to significantly increase the percentage of MMUF alumni who earn their doctorates, thereby impacting the diversity of perspectives available to students in higher education.