The Office of the Dean of the College is pleased to announce that Brown sophomores Alicia Adams, Fatimah Asghar, Madeleine Avendano, Georgiana Drain and Caroline Martin, and Marlaina Martin have been selected as Brown University 2009 Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows and Associates. The Mellon Mays Program aims to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented minority groups in faculty positions at colleges and universities. Fellows and associates conduct individual research projects under the guidance of a faculty mentor, and they receive $5,000 per academic year to support their research and preparations for graduate school, and an additional $5,000 in the course of pursuing their Ph.D.
- Alicia Adams from Waukegan, Illinois plans to concentrate in Human Biology/Human Health and Disease. Her Mellon research will examine the social production and maintenance of health inequalities; after Brown she plans to pursue a combined MD/Ph.D in Sociology.
- Fatimah Asghar from Cambridge, Massachusetts plans to concentrate in International Relations and Africana Studies. Her Mellon research explores the ways in which expressionist culture can be used as a means of social and policy change in conflict regions. After Brown she plans to work with theater in third world countries, and then pursue a Ph.D in Anthropology.
- Madeleine Avendano from Queens, New York plans to concentrate in Philosophy. Her Mellon research will focus on the relationship between philosophy and notions of race and ethnicity; she plans to pursue doctoral study in Ethics and Political Philosophy.
- Georgiana Drain from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania plans to concentrate in history. Her Mellon research examines the phenomenon of collective memory in the context of oral history testimonies from members of African-American communities in the Philadelphia area.
- Caroline Martin from Weehawken, New Jersey plans to concentrate in Music. Her Mellon research will examine the role of black women in opera; she plans to attend graduate school for both performance and musicology.
- Marlaina Martin from Piscataway, New Jersey plans to concentrate in Anthropology. Her Mellon research will analyze Malian gender relations through the lens of women’s organizations and the djine-don possession cult.