Pathways to VCU | VCU, John Tyler, Reynolds

Mellon Pathways Program

Overview

Pathways logo The Mellon Pathways Program is a partnership between Brightpoint Community College (Brightpoint), J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Reynolds), and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The program offers pathways, resources, and support for students who are completing their associate degree at Brightpoint or Reynolds and planning to transfer to VCU to complete their bachelor’s degree in the arts or humanities. The grant-funding cycle for the program ends in May 2025 and, unfortunately, we are not actively recruiting new students.

Students participating in the Mellon Pathways Program can apply to become a Mellon Research Fellow, where they will receive a stipend to support conducting a research project in the humanities or arts with a faculty member and presenting their work at a year-end colloquium. Being a part of the Mellon Pathways Program provides students with access to resources and a support system to enhance their academic success. It also gives them an opportunity to save money on tuition by taking classes at the community college that count: count towards their degree, count in their future, and count for transfer.

Research Fellows

Pathways/Mellon Research Fellows logo

Mellon Research Fellows are motivated Pathways Program students who work with a faculty member on their own research project in the arts or humanities, participate in a mentorship program, and present their work at an end-of-year banquet.

Students who have completed one semester in the Pathways Program are eligible to apply to be Mellon Research Fellows. Through an application process, students are selected as Mellon Research Fellows in spring, and matched with faculty mentors.

Mellon Research Fellows receive:

preparation for upper-level university work, graduate school, and different career paths
enhanced mentorship and advising
a $5000 stipend for the school year

Featured Student Projects

In August 2024, a group of Pathways Program students from Brightpoint and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community Colleges were invited to participate in the Mellon Research Fellows program. Over the next eight months, these students undertook research projects in the humanities and arts under the mentorship of a community college faculty member and a VCU faculty connection. Through weekly meetings with their mentors and peers, attendance at bimonthly symposia, and hours of reading, interviewing, reflection, writing and learning, our amazing Mellon Research Fellows have produced thirteen thoughtful, unique and creative final projects, which can be explored on this webpage.

Below are photos from our May 8 Mellon Research Fellows Year-End Celebration honoring our hardworking students and their wonderful mentors at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.