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Mellon Foundation Competition guidelines

Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative Departmental Competition

The Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative (BSFEI) represents a collaboration to expand the university’s academic profile and build curricula, research, student support networks, and community engagement. Specifically, these goals will be realized through enhanced scholarship and pedagogy critical to a deeper understanding of historical and current issues relevant to members of the African diaspora to build a more collaborative world. This competition will focus on the hiring of individuals who fulfill the requirements of the Mellon Foundation as it relates to humanities supported disciplines. Read more about the Mellon Foundation requirements.

In this second year of hires supported by the Mellon Foundation, departments have the opportunity to compete for a faculty hire at both the Pathway to Faculty (PtF) and the Tenure/Tenue-Track level (T/TT). This process will ensure that hiring aligns with initiative, unit, and university goals and that there is a strong commitment to a welcoming and supportive environment.

Academic units will submit applications to the grant principal investigator Dean Amanda Bryant-Friedrich. The competition review committee will be seated and co-chaired by Dean Bryant-Friedrich and Drs. Charisse Burden-Stelly and Lisa Ze Winters, co-chair(s) of the Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative Steering Committee. 

Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative

Departmental Competition Review Committee

  • WSU-Mellon BSFEI PI
  • Co-Chair WSU-Mellon BSFEI Steering Committee Co-Chairs
  • Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs (or his/her designee)
  • Vice President for Research (or his/her designee)
  • One department chair from a department in the humanities
  • One department chair from a department outside the humanities
  • Two faculty members whose research and teaching are in the humanities
  • Two faculty members whose research and teaching are outside the humanities
  • Two members of the Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative steering committee

The committee will evaluate departmental/programmatic area applications for participation and recommend to the provost the units which will be involved in this year’s cycle of the initiative. All members of the committee, including the chairs, will be voting members. The provost will make final determinations as to the participating units. This committee will also support units during the hiring process.

Timelines

Pathway to Faculty (PtF) Mellon Fellows

Departmental applications for PtF Mellon Fellows are due by March 10, 2025. The review committee will notify departments as to their award status on or before April 7, 2025. Ads for positions received through the initiative must be posted on or before May 5, 2025. PfF Mellon Fellows may begin their positions on or around August 15, 2025, at the earliest.

PtF Mellon Fellows application

Tenured/Tenure-Track Mellon Faculty

Departmental applications for T/TT Mellon Faculty are due by March 14, 2025. The review committee will notify departments as to their award status on or before April 14, 2025. Ads for positions received through the initiative must be posted on or before August 31, 2025.  Tenure-track hires may begin their positions in either January or August 2026.

Tenure/Tendured-Track Mellon Faculty application

Application materials

Note: Units may submit up to three applications, with each application describing a unique hiring priority in the department. Each application will be considered individually.

  1. Description of unit priorities and goals as they relate to diversification of the university’s academic profile and transformation of the humanities curricula, research, student support networks, and community engagement centering the Black experience (1 page maximum).  
  2. Position description as it will appear in a job ad, including the rank (postdoctoral or similar, tenure-track, tenured, or open-rank) sought for this position (1 page maximum).
  3.  Statement of how hiring in the area of interest will transform unit and university curricula and research in Black Studies as well as standing at national and international levels. This statement should also include how this hire will complement research, teaching, and outreach/engagement in the unit and across the university and how the hire aligns with the WSU mission. Priority will be given to applications that do not duplicate extant curricula (1 page maximum).
  4. Statement of how the unit will support the scholar’s contributions to Black Studies at WSU (1 page maximum) including but not limited to:
    1. Support of curricular development in Black Studies both within the unit and in cross-listed courses
    2. Support of candidate’s collaborative work and service with the Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative (BSFEI)  
  5. Recruiting and Search Plan (2 page maximum):
    1. A plan for recruiting that describes efforts to ensure a qualified and diverse pool of applicants.  
    2. A plan for conducting the search that includes details to center education, experience and qualifications during applicant evaluation and interviews.
  6. Letter from the School/College Dean in support of the application, providing further context regarding the type of support the College/School will provide for the position and how this position supports the School's/College's goals (2 page maximum).
  7. Outline of a plan to support a "Brain Trust" model for mentoring of faculty through tenure and promotion.  The entire team is required for Pathway to Faculty Mellon Fellows as outlined in the mentor descriptions below.  For T/TT hires, members of the Brain Trust may vary depending on rank desired.  This model utilizes the following individuals as a mentoring team (2 page maximum):
    1. Peer Mentor
    2. Career Mentor
    3. Internal Advocate
    4. External Advocate
    5. Challenger
    6. Sponsor

Note: The definition of each of the mentoring types is below. It is expected that the Career Mentor will be the faculty member responsible for supporting the faculty hire through the tenure and promotion process. The Internal Advocate will be the unit head in which the hire is made.  All other positions can be filled at the discretion of the unit. These positions need not be filled within the unit. Please provide short biographies for each member to be appointed to the Brain Trust. 

Mentoring types

Roles Responsibilities Qualifications
Peer Mentor

Develop a relationship with the mentee that facilitates a sense of belonging; offer information related to internal and external resources for work-life satisfaction; provide support when negative behavior is encountered; inform the mentee of unwritten rules and processes that impact success; provide the collegiality of a peer.
Early-career tenure track faculty member at WSU who has excelled in the professoriate; the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs can assist in identification of this member of the Brain Trust, if needed.
Career Mentor Act as the advisor for the pre-faculty fellow and allow independence and provide mentoring during the faculty phase. Share experiences, skills and perspectives; listen and be open minded and equitable, have the self-reflection needed to leave the mentoring relationship if needed.  Work with fellow to create or expand the IDP; hold oneself and mentee accountable; meet when agreed; spend some political capital on the success of the mentee. Identify and facilitate the development of the mentee's relationship with the external advocate.  Tenured WSU faculty member who has achieved the same or similar career goals of the mentee. Have scholarly activities which support the interest of the mentee. 
Internal Advocate Get to know the fellow's skills, abilities, interest, passions and goals; know what drives them; promote the mentee in situations within the unit, school/college or university; facilitate the inclusion of the mentee in opportunities that drive them; offer mentee's talents for consideration when collaborations are sought or resources are available; spend political capital to facilitate the mentee's success.  Is a unit or school/college decision maker (e.g., chair). Shares disciplinary interest.
External Advocate Similar to the internal advocate but assist mentee in exploring new directions in scholarship and creative endeavor; facilitates networking; nominates mentee for memberships, fellowships and awards as well as opportunities for national and international exposure. Shares disciplinary interest; holds a position outside WSU; well recognized in their field.
Challenger Willing to point out areas of professional blunder and scrutinize mentee activities; comfortable in pushing the mentee to their limits of comfort; very specific in critiques and never personally attacks. Holds a position of trust and prominence; is admired and respected; the Postdoc Office can assist in identification of this member of the Brain Trust, if needed.
Sponsor Recognizes and owns position of power and influence in the unit and school/college and will use this position to support the success of the mentee. Is a decision maker and will help to protect the mentee from distracting obligations; spends political capital to promote mentee success. Dean or high level administrator who has influence in the school or college where the mentee is appointed; the Postdoc Office can assist in identification of this member of the Brain Trust, if needed.

Search and hiring process

Depending on the unit’s bylaws, the unit chair or chair of the unit search committee will ensure that the committee receives prescribed training designed to conduct a holistic search and hiring process. Departmental review of candidates will be based on a standard rubric (pdf).

Interviews, which are the third and final level of review by the search committee, will also be conducted based on this rubric. Opportunities for freely written comments will be included at all levels of review to accommodate discipline-specific review criteria. The BSFEI-Faculty Competition Committee will work with the recruiting and search committee to provide opportunities for training for all individuals involved in the search and hiring process. This includes all who are involved in in-person visits, seminars or presentations by the applicant, and meetings with proposed Brain Trust members.

Departments and colleges/schools should follow their normal search process with the following additions:

  1. Departments will submit potential first-round interview candidates' CVs to the PI of the grant. The BSFEI-Faculty Competition Committee will evaluate each candidate for their suitability as a faculty member working in the field of Black Studies.  The Mellon Foundation will provide approval for funding under the initiative. 
  2. Candidates’ campus visits will include a 30-minute meeting with members of the BSFEI steering committee.
  3. Units will work with the BSFEI PI and Steering Committee Co-Chairs to ensure the inclusion of language in all letters of offer that communicate departmental expectations for and commitments to supporting the finalist work in Black Studies, including the following:
    1. Acknowledgement that the candidate will serve as an Affiliate Faculty for the Detroit Center for Black Studies and that the department shall recognize and support such service
    2. Acknowledgement that the candidate will be expected to teach courses closely engaged with Black Studies, develop such courses for the department, and offer such courses as cross-listed courses when appropriate
    3. Affirmation that the department will support the candidate’s curricular development in Black studies
    4. Acknowledgement that the candidate’s research will be centered in or engage closely with Black Studies
    5. Affirmation that the department will recognize the value of this scholarship in considerations for tenure and promotion

Such review of the offer will be confidential and limited only to language surrounding the candidate’s and department’s fidelity to the Mellon Grant outputs.

Units awarded at this stage will then be instructed to proceed to the fellow search and interview phase.

For more information or questions, please contact:

Dr. Amanda Bryant-Friedrich
Dean, Graduate School
PI, Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative
amanda.bryant-friedrich@wayne.edu

Dr. Lisa Ze Winters
Co-Chair Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement Initiative Steering Committee
lisaze@wayne.edu

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly
Co-Chair Wayne State - Mellon Foundation Black Studies Faculty Enhancement
Initiative Steering Committee                                                                   
dr.cbs@wayne.edu

Dr. Angulique Outlaw
Associate Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs 
Graduate School 
aoutlaw@med.wayne.edu