Mellon New Directions Fellowship - Internal nomination applications due Aug 23

Department: Humanities Center

Post Date: July 22, 2020

News Details


Call for Proposals: Mellon New Directions

UCI Internal Review for Nominations | Proposals Due Sunday, August 23, 2020

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has invited UCI to submit one faculty nominee for a New Directions Fellowship. These fellowships assist faculty to pursue systematic training and academic competencies outside their own special fields in order to advance a cross-disciplinary research agenda. A New Directions fellowship does not aim to facilitate short-term outcomes, such as completion of a book. Rather, it is a longer-term investment in the scholar’s intellectual range and productivity. The fellowship provides support for exceptional faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who received their doctorates between 2008 and 2014.

Fellows will receive: (1) the equivalent of one academic year's salary, (2) two summers of additional support, equivalent to two-ninths of the previous academic year salary each, and (3) tuition or course fees or equivalent direct costs associated with the fellows' training programs. These funds may be expended over a period not to exceed three full academic years following the date of the award.  Final budgets are approximately $250,000. Applicants should familiarize themselves with the fellowship-specific application guidelines described in detail below and online here. New in 2020:

o Priority will be given to applications that manifest 1) a strong focus on issues of race, ethnicity, and migration, or 2) a focus on filling in the gaps left by more traditional narratives in the history of the Americas.

o In an effort to recognize and address travel and access constraints related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, supplemental funds up to $15,000 will be available for scholars who require access to collections that have not yet been digitized and cataloged, or who require the paid support of a librarian or archivist to assist with research where collections are closed to outside visitors because of the pandemic

o All applicants should include a concise plan of no more than two paragraphs outlining alternative arrangements should research activities be constrained by the long-term continuation or a resurgence of the COVID-19 or other pandemic.

The following should be submitted as a single PDF via a Google Forms application at https://forms.gle/URB9cHM6uKDZ9PbSA by 11 pm on Sunday, August 23, 2020.

• A proposal (3 pages max) that provides an explanation of the overall significance of the research being undertaken and how the proposed new direction will assist in the development of the candidate’s research.

• A description of the expenses for training, courses or other activities to purse the new direction (1 page max).

• Short CV (2 pages max)

An ad hoc committee will convene to review the preliminary proposals. The selected nominee will be notified by August 31in order to work with research development staff to refine the full proposal, obtain Sponsored Projects approval and meet the Mellon Foundation’s September 28 application deadline.

Questions about the fellowship and our internal campus review process may be directed to Amanda Swain at ajswain@uci.edu.