HBCU FACULTY FELLOWSHIPS

** The 2009-10 application cycle is now closed. For reference, the 2009-10 Call for Proposals can be downloaded here

With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the FHI began in 2008-09 a new residential fellowship program for faculty in the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The program provides support for a year of scholarly research in a collegial environment, with access to many opportunities for substantive interaction and collaboration with Duke faculty and students.

The FHI provides an ideal context in which fellows can interact and work within the diverse array of intellectual currents at Duke. The FHI maintains close relationships with the Duke Human Rights Center, Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University Press, and the Duke libraries, as well as institutes and centers in the humanities and social sciences, biological and computer sciences. The FHI is also a locus for external relationships, with institutions including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and the National Humanities Center. The FHI is also the administrative home of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes (CHCI), an international membership organization with links to over 120 humanities organizations around the world. Each of these connections and affiliates represents myriad intellectual possibilities for visiting fellows.

Click here to view information about the 2008-09 HBCU Faculty Fellows.

The Fellowships

Up to three academic year fellowships will be offered in each of the three years of the program (2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11). The program also offers an option for one-semester fellowships, but proposals for full-year fellowships will be prioritized. In addition to a stipend each fellow will receive a fully equipped office in the John Hope Franklin Center, library privileges, and a small pool of research and/or travel funds. Stipends for Assistant and Associate Professors are $40,000. Stipends for full Professors are $60,000. The FHI may in some cases provide additional funding for special projects. The FHI will provide $1,000 (by reimbursement) for relocation or housing costs, and will assist in identifying housing and relocation-related resources. At this writing, Duke policy prevents the FHI from offering direct health and dental benefits. However, the FHI will reimburse fellows for premiums for private insurance, or for additional premiums added to family plans in order to provide health and dental coverage for the fellow during the fellowship term. The FHI will reimburse costs for health and dental insurance up to a level of coverage comparable to the coverage offered by Duke’s employee plans.

No teaching is required, but fellows will be encouraged to participate in many on-going and ad hoc intellectual formations at Duke, including seminars, reading groups, symposia and other special projects. Fellows will also be asked to present one lecture on their work during the fellowship year.

Eligibility, Selection Process, and Selection Criteria

The FHI’s HBCU Fellowship Program is designed for regular-rank faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Faculty members who hold positions in departments focused on the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences are eligible to apply. For the purposes of this program,“HBCU” is defined as those institutions listed at www.ed.gov/about/inits/list/whhbcu/edlite-list.html.

Prospective fellows will be selected based on a review of their academic accomplishments and the quality of their proposal. Selection criteria will focus in equal measure on the innovative nature of the proposal and the ways in which the proposed project might best utilize and connect with the intellectual strengths in the humanities at Duke. A faculty committee will review all proposals.

Fellowship proposals should include the following components:

1. Completed writable PDF application form available here.

2. A one-page cover letter with your original signature, addressed to “Selection Committee” at the address below. The cover letter should provide a brief summary of your proposal and the nature of your interest in working at Duke University and the Franklin Humanities Institute. Please also indicate whether you are interested in a full-year fellowship or a one-semester fellowship, and if the latter, whether you are interested in the fall or spring semester.

3. A proposal of 1500 words or less that includes descriptions of: (a) the project you propose to undertake during the fellowship year; (b) your current research; and (c) the ways in which your work may connect with the Duke humanities community, or the ways in which your work will benefit from access to Duke scholars or resources.

4. A current curriculum vitae.

5. Two letters of recommendation from scholars who are familiar with your work.

6. A letter with original signature from your Dean agreeing to release time for the length of the proposed fellowship.

Application materials should be mailed to:

HBCU Fellowships 2009-2010
c/o Christina Chia, Assistant Director
John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute
Duke University
Box 90403, 2204 Erwin Road
Durham, NC 27708

Applications for the 2009-10 fellowship cycle must be received by 5:00 PM on February 23, 2009.

If you have questions about this program, the Franklin Humanities Institute, or the Duke context and its resources, please write to christina.chia@duke.edu or call (919) 668-1902.