CURRENT NEWS
SIUE Awarded $1.6M Grant from Mellon Foundation
Howard Rambsy, II
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the Mellon Foundation through its Public Knowledge program. The award will support the expansion of the Black Lit Network, a digital resource dedicated to African American literary studies. The project includes a podcast series, data visualizations, a literature search tool, and additional public-facing resources. A lead researcher on the project is SIUE Distinguished Research Professor of Literature Howard Rambsy II, PhD. “My younger brother Kenton and I have been collaborating for more than a decade on projects that merge African American literary studies and digital humanities,” said Rambsy. “One major difference this time is that we now have significant funding to support our ideas. We’re extremely grateful to Mellon, and we see the best way to show our appreciation is by working with our partners and contributors to produce a high-quality, far-reaching project.”
Xavier University UNCF/Mellon Fellow
Aarinii Parms-Green
Aarinii Parms-Green is a 2025 recipient of the Truman Fellowship! Aarinii is one of 54 exceptional college students from 49 U.S. colleges and universities selected as 2025 Truman Scholars. Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. Aarinii is a Political Science, Psychological Science and History major and a Xavier Exponential Honors Student! Aarinii notes that being in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program, which exposes undergraduates to the rigors of research, has surely contributed to her being selected as a Truman Scholar. Aarinii will graduate in Fall 2025 and while finalizing her post-baccalaureate plans, she intends to continue pursuing public service opportunities. Congratulations, Aarinii- we are incredibly proud of you!
In Loving Memory of Joycelyn Wilson
The UNCF/Mellon Programs join Spelman College in mourning the loss of UNCF/Mellon Programs Fellow Joycelyn Wilson (Clark Atlanta University, C'98)
Dr. Jerry Ward – Funeral Service: Friday, February 21, 2025
The UNCF/Mellon Programs join others in the Academy in mourning the loss of Dr. Jerry Ward. Dr. Ward was an intellectual giant with an extraordinary gift for mentoring and teaching.
Art for All: Dr. Shay Welch’s Vision of Inclusivity
Dr. Shay Welch, the current Scholar-in-Residence for the Atlanta BeltLine, brings a fresh perspective to the intersection of art and community engagement. With a focus on inclusivity and authenticity, she seeks to bridge the gap and invite diverse voices to shape the cultural landscape of Atlanta.
Black Creole Chronicles by Mona Lisa Saloy, Ph.D.
Louisiana Poet Laureate 2021-23, Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Professor of English and UNCF/Mellon Mentor Has Been Published! University of New Orleans Press: “Who are Black Creoles? Saloy’s new poems address ancestral connections to contemporary life, traditions celebrated, New Orleans Black life today...
National Humanities Fellow 2022-23: Jontyle Theresa Robinson
Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works by African American Women Artists, 1996 and Revelations from Bearing Witness, 2026
National Humanities Featured Research: HBCU Scholars
The research of three Fellows from the 2021–22 class, all of whom are part of the Center’s ongoing initiative to support research by scholars from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Danica Tisdale, Ph.D.
Michael Ralph, Ph.D.
Howard Rambsy, Ph.D.
Jessica Harris, Ph.D.
Samuel H. Johnson SSSP Foundation Scholarship
Cultural Front
Jericho Brown, Ph.D.
Featured Book
Second Line Home New Orleans Poems | by Mona Lisa Saloy
In this celebration of life in death, Mona Lisa Saloy captures the solemn grief, ongoing struggle,and joyous processions of New Orleans after the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.
Meredith Evans, Ph.D.
Christoph' McFadden
Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence
A Matter of Degree



