four faculty awarded mellon periclan faculty leadership grants for humanities courses with community-initiated projects

Four faculty members representing four Periclean institutions were selected to develop, teach, and evaluate a new humanities course incorporating a community-initiated project as part of  the Mellon Foundation Periclean Faculty Leadership (PFL) Program™ in the Humanities. This exciting program connects the humanities and liberal arts learning to challenges facing the wider campus community and society more broadly.  

In PFL courses, students apply course-content to address real-word problems in their local community. Courses address one or more grand challenges: Climate Change, Education Access, Immigration, Mass Incarceration, Race and Inequality, and Voter Engagement. These four Periclean Faculty Leaders are joining more than 50 other Periclean Faculty Leaders (PFLs) in the Humanities at colleges and universities across the nation. The Mellon PFL Program in the Humanities is supporting PFL courses in 2019-2023. Project Pericles provides a grant of $4,000 for each PFL to support these civic engagement activities on their campus and in their communities. This program is supported by the Mellon Foundation and The Eugene M. Lang Foundation. 

Among the newly awarded Periclean Faculty Leaders, we are excited that their community partners range from an environmental nonprofit to a local library to an afterschool program for elementary school students. Mellon PFLs represent disciplines including: History, Film and Visual Culture; French and Francophone Studies; and German. 

An example of a PFL course: Mary-Rice DeFosse at Bates College will teach “Le Français dans le Maine/French in Maine,” a course that will allow students to interact with French-speakers through programs designed to foster discussions in both French and English. In partnership with the Lewiston Public Library, students in small groups will meet on a weekly basis with refugees and asylum seekers to develop much-needed English language skills to thrive in society. The immigrants will also share stories with the students, which the students will collect, as an importance means of documenting community history. 

The Presidents, Provosts, or Program Directors on each Periclean campus nominated faculty members with demonstrated leadership potential who can make significant contributions on their campuses and in their communities. A group of external evaluators selected this new group. Throughout their tenure Mellon PFLs are paired with a PFL at another institution to encourage peer collaboration.    

Project Pericles thanks the Mellon Foundation and The Eugene M. Lang Foundation for their support of this program.   

Mellon PFLs in the Humanities, Courses, and Community Partners (Cohort IV):   

• Bates College, Mary Rice-DeFosse, Professor, French and Francophone Studies 
  Course: Le Français dans le Maine/French in Maine 
  Community Partner: The Lewiston Public Library 
  Peer: Désirée Días 
  
  
• Carleton College, Seth Peabody, Assistant Professor, German, Analysis & Inquiry  
  Course: Seeking Shelter in a Dangerous World 
  ​Community Partner: Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative (GNSC) 
  Peer: Erika Huckestein 
  
  
• Swarthmore College, Désirée Díaz, Associate Professor, Spanish  
  Course: Latinx Images: Film and Visual Culture  
  Community Partner: The Creative Living Room 
  ​Peer: Mary Rice-DeFosse
  
  
• Widener University, Erika Huckestein, Assistant Teaching Professor, History  
  Course: Introduction to Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies: Gender, Race, and Civic Engagement 
  Community Partner: The Yes We Can Achievement and Cultural Center 
  ​Peer: Seth Peabody