The University of New Mexico recently selected its third group of Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows (MMUF). The recipients for the 2017-2019 cohort of the MMUF program include: Rozee Benavides, Thomas Graves, Hotvlkuce Harjo, Timoteo L’Esperance and Shelby Zubia.
MMUF is the centerpiece of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s initiatives to increase diversity in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning. The program was named for Benjamin E. Mays, a distinguished African American educator, social activist, sociologist, minister and president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. from 1940 to 1967. He was also a mentor to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
MMUF program provides the fellows research opportunities, financial support, mentoring, graduate preparation and professional development. The fellows are expected to pursue a Ph.D. and a professorship in future.
The Recipients
Rozee Benavides, Anthropology & Spanish
Research interests: Evolutionary Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology & Human Rights
Mentor: Dr. Lindsay Smith
Shelby Zubia, Linguistics & Psychology
Research Interests: Language Preservation
Mentor: Dr. Dawn Nordquist
Hotvlkuce Harjo, Women's Studies & Arts Studio
Research Interests: Indigeneity, Queer Theory, Disability
Mentor: Dr. Amy Brandzel
Timoteo "TJ" L'Esperance, Political Science
Research Interests: Boarder Politics
Mentor: Dr. Michael Rocca
Thomas "Tre" Graves, Political Science & Environmental Science
Research Interests: Political Ecology, Green Political Theory
Mentor: Dr. Jami Nelson-Nuñez