Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows Program

The Big Ten Academic Alliance Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows (Mellon Fellows) program is a collaborative initiative of twelve Big Ten Academic Alliance member universities aimed to increase the number of humanities faculty in our existing leadership development programs and enhance the leadership skills of humanities faculty already in existing programs.

The Big Ten Academic Alliance Mellon Fellows program is a two year-long extensive leadership development program. Over a three-year period, our universities will select two cohorts of 12 participants that will take part in the Mellon Fellows program for two years. A total of 24 participants will engage in the Mellon Fellows program.

In year one, fellows participate in:

• The ALP program, which includes three three-day campus-based seminars that rotate among Big Ten Academic Alliance universities; 
• A half‐day seminar focused on topics relevant to humanities faculty and/or the administration of humanities programs; and
• Monthly Zoom meetings with a Mellon Fellows affinity group from the ALP cohort. 

In year two, fellows will complete an administrative/academic fellowship at their university in a campus‐wide office, most typically the Office of the Provost or equivalent. 

2023-2025 Big Ten Academic Alliance Mellon Fellows 

• Dana Rabin, University of Illinois
• Linda Pisano, Indiana University
• Amber Brian, University of Iowa
• Hester Baer, University of Maryland
  
• Bianet Castellanos, University of Minnesota
• Cory Armstrong, University of Nebraska‐Lincoln
• EJ Westlake, Ohio State University
• Erin Murphy, Pennsylvania State University
• Alfred Lopez, Purdue University
• Lori Lopez, University of Wisconsin‐Madison