Fellowships
Fellowships play a significant role in my academic trajectory. Each program has opened up new avenues for research, collaboration, and creative inquiry. Whether through dedicated writing time, access to specialized archives, community-engaged learning, or structured mentorship, these fellowships have allowed me to deepen both my scholarship and my teaching practice.
All of these opportunities have come directly through my work at Xavier, where institutional support and a shared commitment to Black intellectual traditions have positioned me to grow as both a scholar and educator. They have connected me with scholars and practitioners across disciplines, challenged me to think more expansively, and supported the development of projects that center Black life, expression, and intellectual thought.
This page offers an overview of those formative experiences and how they continue to shape the work I do inside and outside the classroom.
When you are finished here, feel free to explore the section on invited public presentations and talks about my current research.
HistoryMakers Digital Archive 2025-2026
Selected as part of a national cohort of faculty committed to integrating the HistoryMakers Digital Archive into undergraduate teaching. Developed innovative assignments that connect Black oral histories to performance studies, cultural analysis, and critical pedagogy. The fellowship supports curricular development focused on African American history, storytelling, and archival research, with an emphasis on engaging students in experiential and community-based learning. Invited to be a Master Fellow for 2026-2027.
UNCF/Mellon First Book Institute
I was selected for a national cohort of early-career faculty at HBCUs developing their first scholarly books by UNCF/Mellon Programs. This highly competitive fellowship supports manuscript development through intensive mentorship, writing retreats, and interdisciplinary workshops. As a fellow, I am working closely with Black feminist digital scholar Dr. Moya Bailey to develop my book proposal and selected chapters. Furthermore, I was invited to author a monograph about Black hair in the digital space with an academic press.
FaCTS Mellon (CAT + FD) Summer 2024
Awarded a campus-based Mellon fellowship focused on critical approaches to artificial intelligence in higher education. As a fellow, I developed storytelling pedagogical strategies that explore the intersections of Black Horror, emerging technologies, and creative inquiry. The fellowship supported interdisciplinary dialogue and innovation around the ethical, cultural, and artistic implications of AI in the classroom.
Exponential Honors BIT Faculty
As a Faculty Fellow in the Black Intellectual Thought (BIT) initiative through the Exponential Honor's Program, I revised my course "Performing the Archive" to align with African American diasporic centered teaching practices. This course redesign deepened my ongoing commitment to mentoring students through research-driven performance work rooted in Black studies.
"Performing the Archive" is a key site for interdisciplinary collaboration, also serving as the foundation for my HistoryMakers fellowship, where students connected archival narratives to embodied performance and cultural analysis within the Black community.
Pictured are 2025-2026 HistoryMakers master fellows, faculty fellows, K-12 teachers, student ambassadors, and staff with Ms. Julieanna Richardson (founder).
Pictured is my mentor group from UNCF/Mellon First Book Institute. Me, Dr. Kathyrn Sophia Belle, Dr. Moya Bailey, and Dr. Celeste Lee.
Pictured are fellowship recipients of the Summer 2024 (FaCTS) initiative through the CAT + FD Office. The theme was "Human Learning in an AI World."
Pictured are faulty, staff, and students who help organize Xavier's campus visit for Dr. Saidiya Hartman. The picture also includes collaborators from Dillard University and Louisiana State University.