Six U-M students have been named 1994 Andrew W. Mellon Fellows in Humanistic Studies.
Given annually by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the award provides a $12,750 stipend and covers first-year tuition and fees for students planning to pursue advanced study in the humanities at any U.S. or Canadian graduate school.
Only Harvard University, with eight, and the University of Chicago, with seven, placed more students among the 85 recipients nationwide than the U-M.
The U-M winners include Sunil Agnani, who graduated in 1991 with a degree in comparative literature; Sharon A. Braslaw, a senior in history; Nathan S. Estep, a senior in classical archaeology and art history;
Jonathan H. Harrison, a senior in philosophy; Aisha Karim, who graduated in 1993 with a degree in history and comparative literature; and John L. Parker, a senior in English.
According to English Prof. John R. Knott, who chaired the regional Mellon Fellowships committee, this is the most winners the University has ever had.
“We simply had a concentration of very strong students from Michigan,” he said. “They impressed the committee as bright, mature students with a clear sense of what they wanted to pursue in graduate school.”
Graduate School Dean John H. D’Arms, who also is vice provost for academic affairs and a member of the national Mellon Fellowships committee, echoed Knott’s sentiments.
“The Mellon program seeks to identify some of the country’s most promising young humanists, persons who will make a future impact on teaching and scholarship in colleges and universities throughout the United States,” he said. “The competition is keen, and so the performance of these students—and the LS&A professors who have been their teachers—is very gratifying.”
