Grinnell Scholar Earns Mellon Mays Fellowship
Grinnell Posse Scholar and junior Bailey Bagneris has earned the prestigious Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) for the two academic years that run from fall 2017 to spring 2019.
The program aims to develop more representative college and university faculties by supporting and encouraging fellows to enter PhD programs that prepare students for professorial careers.
The MMUF program is coordinated on each of its member campuses by faculty members and academic administrators who select their institution's undergraduate fellows, typically in the sophomore year. Fellows must have demonstrated academic ability and an aspiration to pursue a doctoral degree in selected fields of humanities, social sciences and physical sciences study.
Bailey is looking forward to exploring how the Mellon Mays Fellowship can shape her future. The junior will continue her academic work towards a degree in history this fall. She is planning a research project for her fellowship about the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
“I’m interested in studying history because there are always other avenues to learning [about the past],” Bailey says. “I am interested in diversifying the narratives we use to learn history.”
Bailey is one of five Mellon Mays Fellows currently at Grinnell. She says she is already enjoying the support of the other fellows, and is considering options for doctorate studies after graduation.
