The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) has been awarded a grant from the Mellon Foundation — a three-year, $1.5 million investment that will fund faculty development and student-faculty research projects across humanities and interdisciplinary arts fields. This new program will be open to faculty and students at all VCCS community colleges statewide.
Mellon Foundation logo
The funding will support the launch of the Mellon Faculty Research Fellows Initiative, pairing 46 faculty fellows with 46 student research assistants to conduct original humanities-centered research in fields including literature, history, cultural studies, digital humanities, and civic inquiry. Faculty and student teams will be guided through the full research lifecycle with the goal of deepening research identity and expanding access to high-impact learning experiences.
Marshall
Janelle Marshall, VCCS’s Director of Pathways to Arts & Humanities, emphasized the significance of the award for both faculty and students. “Community college faculty are rarely able to pursue research within their fields of study while continuing to teach,” she said. “This grant will create opportunities for interdisciplinary professional development for faculty and applied research opportunities for students.”
The VCCS’s relationship with the Mellon Foundation dates back to 2019, when the system received its first grant through Mellon’s Community College University Partnership (CCUP) program, which focused on building transfer pathways for arts and humanities students. This latest grant builds on those foundations while broadening the initiative’s reach and deepening the emphasis on original scholarship.
Program leadership noted that the collaborative nature of the proposal was key to its success, with input gathered from administrators, faculty, and students across the state.
Applications and additional program details are expected to be announced in the coming months.
