Guiding Students Through the Groves of Academe

By Ken Gewertz

Gazette Staff

When Robert Browning declared "a man's reach should exceed his grasp," he might have had Phillip Goff in mind.

The Harvard junior is working on an independent research project of truly ambitious proportions -- an examination of the issue of race in American society from the perspective of both social philosophy and social science.

Moreover, he has enlisted as his mentors two of Harvard's most celebrated social thinkers, Cornel West, professor of Afro-American studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and professor of the philosophy of religion in the Divinity School, and William Julius Wilson, the Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.

"Basically, with Professor West I'm looking at the moral philosophy question, 'How should one live?' and with Professor Wilson I'm looking at the sociological question, 'What can be done?'" Goff said. "They've both been really accessible and really helpful. Which is good because here I am trying to solve the biggest problem in the history of America . . . and I'm 20!"

Goff has received help and encouragement in tackling this ambitious project from the Mellon Minority Undergraduate Fellowship Program, launched in 1989 to increase the number of underrepresented minorities on college faculties.

Citing a "striking imbalance" between the current numbers of minority professors and minority students, the Mellon Foundation began working with colleges and universities nationwide to encourage African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students to consider academic careers.

Under the program, undergraduates considering graduate studies in select fields of the arts and sciences are given opportunities to work closely with faculty members on areas of mutual interest and to engage in guided research projects of their own.

The program's term-time and summer stipends can make more ambitious projects possible or simply ease burdensome work commitments. Its loan forgiveness component, available to participants who enter doctoral programs, reduces any disincentive to pursue an academic career due to undergraduate loan indebtedness.

More than a third of those Mellon Fellows who have earned an undergraduate degree are now in doctoral programs. Many others plan to start work toward the Ph.D. in the near future. The numbers are well above the national average and herald what promises to be a steady flow of bright minority scholars into the professorial ranks in the years to come.

Last Friday, the program's current participants gathered for a luncheon meeting at Upstairs at the Pudding to discuss their research projects with mentors and fellow students over salad and lasagna. A wide variety of student projects was represented.

Senior Felicia Gordon is working with Martha Nadell, a graduate student in American civilization, on a study of anthologies of black literature that came out of the Harlem Renaissance between 1918 and 1931. Gordon hopes to document a shift over time from a political emphasis to one that is more aesthetically oriented.

Gordon hasn't quite made up her mind to opt for an academic career, but she appreciates the perspective the program has given her.

"Working with other academics has been a great opportunity," she said.

Senior Joshua Powe has been working with Miles Shore, the Bullard Professor of Psychiatry, who teaches a course at the Kennedy School on the history of mental health policy.

Powe's project involves a study of the psychiatric treatment of blacks in the South during the 19th century, and he has done extensive research among the archives of Eastern State Hospital of Williamsburg, Va., which was founded in the 1790s.

Powe is looking forward to publishing the results of his study and credits the program for making the study possible.

"I've definitely enjoyed my research, which I wouldn't have been able to do if it weren't for the generosity of the Mellon Foundation," he said.