The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Renews $450,000 Grant to American Indian College Fund

February 22, 2010

Denver, Colorado – The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has announced a grant for $450,000 to continue the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship Program at the American Indian College Fund (the Fund). The program was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and launched by the Fund in 2004 to increase the number of faculty at the nation’s 33 tribal colleges and universities possessing a terminal degree. Under the program, each faculty fellow selected is provided with financial assistance to complete the dissertation writing process free of financial and professional demands.

Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, “The generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is helping America’s tribal colleges and universities increase their intellectual capital, thereby improving the quality of education across Indian Country, in addition to providing career opportunities to tribal college faculty to ensure that they have top-notch skills. Tribal college faculty not only provide a first-rate education to American Indian students in remote, rural locations, but they also serve as role models and mentors to Native youth. By earning a doctorate degree, our tribal college faculty is demonstrating to Native students that they, too, can aspire to the greatest heights in their own careers.”