ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan has been awarded a grant of $860,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support postdoctoral fellowships focusing on the use of the University’s research collections.

With the grant, and $140,000 in matching funds from the U-M Office of the Provost, a “public goods” program that will offer both junior and senior postdoctoral fellowships will be instituted for a four-year term. The program is intended to promote the teaching of undergraduate students through the use of research resources offered by the University’s libraries. It will draw on the special collections and holdings of the Bentley Historical Library Michigan Historical Collections, the Clements Library of early Americana, and the University Library‘s collections.

The fellowships, which are intended for scholars in the fields of the humanities and related social sciences, are expected to attract scholars to the University whose work would be derived from the collections housed on campus. The visiting scholars would then offer undergraduate seminars that would connect students with these resources.

“From my perspective, the program has many purposes,” said Francis X. Blouin Jr., director, Bentley Historical Library and principal investigator of the program. “We are interested in providing undergraduates with research experience that draws on the important and unique research resources housed at the U-M. We want to demonstrate that the presence of these resources on the campus enrich the intellectual life of the University in a distinctive way. We also want to provide seasoned scholars, as well as young scholars, with an academic experience that will enrich their own work in the future.”

The Mellon grant will provide for a mix of junior and senior fellowships for the program each year. Scholars are invited to apply for the fellowships, which will begin Fall 2002. Eligibility guidelines, deadlines for application, and further information about the application process may be found on the Public Goods Council‘s “Postdoctoral Fellowship Program: Teaching with Research Collections” Web site at: www.umich.edu/~provost/publicgoods/fellow.htm

For more information about the program, phone (734) 764-3482 or send e-mail to: pgcfellowships@umich.edu

Founded in 1999 by then Provost Nancy Cantor, the Public Goods Council is comprised of the academic units that advance scholarship and culture for the University and the public community. The units report centrally, have a particular relevance to the academic work of the University, and are characterized by their collections or other assets, or by their roles as facilitators. The Public Goods Council currently includes the University Library, Bentley Historical Library, Clements Library, Museum of Art, University Musical Society, Nichols Arboretum, Arts of Citizenship Program, and the Arts at Michigan Program.

Andrew W. Mellon FoundationOffice of the ProvostFrancis X. Blouin Jr.Public Goods Councilpgcfellowships@umich.eduMuseum of Art