The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Renews $450,000 Grant to American Indian College Fund for Tribal College Faculty Career Enhancement Program

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Feb 23, 2010, 07:00 ET

DENVER, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has announced a grant for $450,000 to continue the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Faculty Career Enhancement Fellowship Program at the American Indian College Fund (the Fund). The program was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and launched by the Fund in 2004 to increase the number of faculty at the nation's 33 tribal colleges and universities possessing a terminal degree. Under the program, each faculty fellow selected is provided with financial assistance to complete the dissertation writing process free of financial and professional demands.

Richard B. Williams, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, "The generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is helping America's tribal colleges and universities increase their intellectual capital, thereby improving the quality of education across Indian Country, in addition to providing career opportunities to tribal college faculty to ensure that they have top-notch skills. Tribal college faculty not only provide a first-rate education to American Indian students in remote, rural locations, but they also serve as role models and mentors to Native youth. By earning a doctorate degree, our tribal college faculty is demonstrating to Native students that they, too, can aspire to the greatest heights in their own careers."

About the American Indian College Fund

With its credo "Educating the Mind and Spirit," the Denver-based American Indian College Fund is the nation's largest provider of private scholarships for American Indian students, providing more than 6,000 scholarships annually for students seeking to better their lives and communities through education at the nation's 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities. For more information about the American Indian College Fund or to make a donation, visit www.collegefund.org.

SOURCE American Indian College Fund