Hobart and William Smith Colleges

18 July 2022 • Faculty HWS and NY6 Receive $1.5M Mellon Foundation Grant

Mellon grant will support a three-year leadership program for faculty members in the humanities.

The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium, of which Hobart and William Smith Colleges are a member, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by the Mellon Foundation to create the NY6 Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows Program, a three-year program to provide an intensive leadership experience for faculty in the humanities who aspire to academic leadership roles.

The New York Six Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows Program will combine leadership training, mentorship and hands-on leadership experience for a diverse group of humanities faculty who represent the future of academic leadership in the New York Six and beyond. Each Fellow will receive course relief and a stipend to allow them to focus on the Fellowship experience. The cohort of New York Six Fellows will convene for shared learning and networking, and each will benefit from the guidance of both an internal and external mentor. The Program also will provide opportunities for the Fellows to engage with senior leaders on their home campuses, as well as with leaders across the Consortium. Finally, the New York Six Fellows will meet with Fellows from two other liberal-arts consortia to expand their networks and knowledge sharing.

“It is critical that liberal-arts colleges proactively cultivate talent on our campuses so that we have future leaders who represent the diversity of our campuses,” says Joyce P. Jacobsen, chair of the New York Six and president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. “We are deeply grateful to the Mellon Foundation for giving us this opportunity to help faculty develop the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for leadership opportunities.”

This is the third Mellon grant received by the New York Six in its 12-year history, beginning in 2010 with a $600,000 grant for collaborative programs in the areas of library collections, information technology, faculty and student development, and diversity. In 2013, the Mellon Foundation awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Consortium for an international initiative that included teaching and research around global themes, study abroad collaboration, language learning, and international student programs.

“The Mellon Foundation has been a critical partner in establishing the New York Six as a valuable resource for our members,” says Amy Cronin, executive director of the Consortium. “The Academic Leadership Fellows grant will once again advance collaboration across the six schools in ways that will benefit not only the individual Fellows, but also the institutions themselves as they bring new perspectives into their leadership discussions.”

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About the New York Six: Established with the support of the Mellon Foundation, the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium facilitates collaboration among its member institutions in fulfilling their educational missions and serving the public good. Through the sharing of expertise and resources, the Consortium enhances options for students, faculty, and staff, while reducing colleges’ individual and collective operating and capital costs. newyork6.org

About the Mellon Foundation: The Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

In the photo above, Associate Professor of Art and Architecture Gabriella D’Angelo engages with students in “Three Dimensional Design” in the Katherine D. Elliott Studio Arts Center.