Dear Faculty Colleagues,
I write to alert you to the creation of the following position and to invite those of you who are eligible (see requirements below) to consider submitting an application. This will be ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s second Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow opportunity: our inaugural fellow was Danny Barreto, Associate Professor and Director of LGBTQ studies. Danny’s work as Mellon Fellow was focused on expanding our understanding of DEI in the curriculum and on off-campus study.
Title: Special Assistant to the Dean and New York Six Mellon Fellow
Description: ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø invites applications for Special Assistant to the Dean and New York Six Mellon Fellow, a position that spans three-and-a-half years beginning in July 2025 and ending in December 2028. This position is funded by a Mellon Foundation grant to the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium.
The NY6 Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows program is an opportunity for faculty in the humanities and related fields to explore academic leadership through an immersive experience on their home campus. Fellows will gain deeper knowledge and understanding of higher education administration, while working on a discrete project or portfolio that advances important goals of the institution.
Qualifications:
- Faculty with tenure or six or more years’ experience at the institution
- Faculty with a demonstrated interest and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
- Faculty with an interest in or potential for leadership roles
Specifically, the portfolio of the Special Assistant to the Dean and New York Six Mellon Fellow (hereafter, Fellow) will focus on advising and student success. The successful candidate will be tasked with determining how best to ensure that ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s advising systems are performing at the level of excellence our students deserve and are reflective of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s high caliber education. We anticipate that the Fellow will develop resources to strengthen academic advising, with the goal of improving student retention and ensuring that faculty advisers are connecting students to the full range of learning opportunities available to them at ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. In the capacity of Fellow, the successful candidate will chair the Advising Committee, the body responsible for all aspects of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø’s programs for academic advising. Beyond this specific appointment, there will be considerable room in this process for the successful candidate to take a leadership role in shaping the future of advising at ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø, something that we know from other data greatly impacts the student experience.
The Fellow at ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø will be part of a cohort of faculty representing each NY6 institution, and will also engage with Fellows from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and the Associated Colleges of the South. The NY6 Fellows will have opportunities to spend time on the other NY6 campuses, and will receive mentoring from an internal mentor and an executive coach.
The Fellow will receive course releases during the fellowship period, varying from one course release during the program’s first year, a full course release during the 2026–27 academic year, and a 40 percent course reduction (2 courses) during the 2027–28 academic year. The Fellow will also receive additional compensation including summer funding and an administrative stipend, paid through the Mellon grant. Beyond their on-campus responsibilities, Fellows will participate in monthly virtual and periodic in-person meetings, travel to NY6 and other college campuses, present at national conferences, and attend summer institutes with their counterparts from the ACM and ACS, the first of which is scheduled for July 22–24, 2025 in Chicago.
If you’d like to learn more, please join current NY6 Academic Leadership Fellows for a Virtual Information Session on Tuesday, March 4, at 2 p.m. at . This session will include an overview of the program and provide an opportunity to ask the current fellows about their experiences. Please contact Peter Simons (psimons@newyork6.org) if you have questions or are unable to attend and would like more information.
To apply, submit a letter of application and CV to Tammy Still (tstill@colgate.edu). The letter should describe how you fit the criteria above, particularly the relationship of your work to the humanities, and ways you can demonstrate your commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. The application deadline is March 27, 2025.
My best,
Lesleigh
Lesleigh Cushing
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Mark S. Siegel University Professor in Religion and Jewish Studies
Eligible Humanities Fields:
American Studies Ancient Civilizations
Architecture (historical or theoretical focus) Area Studies (humanistic focus)
Art History Classics
Communication (theoretical focus) Comparative Literature
Comparative Religion
Cultural Studies English
Ethics
Ethnic Studies
Film, Cinema and Media Studies (theoretical focus)
Fine Arts
Foreign Languages and Literatures, both modern and classical
Gender and Sexuality Studies
History (including History of Science)
Literature
Medieval Studies
Musicology, Ethnomusicology and Music Theory Performance Studies (theoretical focus)
Philosophy and Political Theory
Religion and Theology
Rhetoric
Theater (theoretical focus)
About the New York Six:
Established in 2010 with the support of the Mellon Foundation, the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium facilitates collaboration among its member institutions in fulfilling their educational missions and serving the public good. Through the sharing of expertise and resources, the consortium enhances options for students, faculty, and staff, while reducing institutions’ individual and collective operating and capital costs. newyork6.org