The University of Chicago and the University of Michigan are the newest members of C3 – Creating Connections Consortium. The organization, funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minorities who are hired to tenure-track faculty positions. In addition to the two new members, the consortium is made up of 24 high-ranking liberal arts colleges and the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.
Under the grant program, graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and statistics at the research universities that are member of the consortium can apply for two-year postdoctoral fellowships at Bates College, Connecticut College, Middlebury College, and Williams College. The postdocs will have a light teaching load and will be mentored by faculty members at the liberal arts colleges. After their fellowships are over, the postdocs will have the inside track to be hired to faculty positions at one of the 24 liberal arts colleges that are members of C3.