Wayne State University has received $6 million for a cluster hire program to recruit and hire 30 new humanities faculty and create a Black Studies center.
Dr. M. Roy Wilson
The multi-million dollar grant – from The Mellon Foundation – will allow the school to recruit 10 tenure-track faculty; 10 tenured associate or full professor-level faculty; and 10 early career scholars for the Pathway to Faculty program, an initiative to prepare people for tenure-track roles.
“Wayne State is located in the largest majority-Black city in America, and our curricula should reflect that with more courses that center the Black experience and the role that race has played in American history, culture, and society,” said Wayne State Provost Dr. Mark Kornbluh. “This grant propels us to build a more inclusive curriculum, a broader research agenda, and deeper impact on our community by dramatically increasing the number of faculty members whose work centers the Black experience.”
The focus of the hires will be on scholars whose research interests involve matters of people of color, race, racism, inequality, and struggles for equality and justice.
The grant also helps fund the launch of the Detroit Center for Black Studies, which will be faculty-led and help connect Black Studies faculty from Michigan institutions.
“With this Mellon-supported initiative, we aim to have a major impact on the key work of Wayne State: research, teaching, community engagement, and student success,” said Dr. M. Roy Wilson, President of Wayne State. “We are committed to building a much more inclusive public research university that better reflects and serves our city, state and nation. Ultimately, we believe that these hires and the curricula and community ties they develop will help us continue to increase success rates across our entire student population.”
