The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has allocated over $18 million to public colleges and universities to bolster programs in race, ethnic, gender, and sexuality studies, a move that has drawn scrutiny regarding its influence on academic fields. John Sailer, director of higher education policy and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, highlighted the foundation's role in establishing "trans studies" as a legitimate academic field through its grant-making.
Sailer, in a recent article for City Journal titled "How the Mellon Foundation Funds Trans Ideology," detailed various grants, including $460,000 to the Black, Indigenous, & Trans of Color Histories Lab and $1 million to the University of Kansas for its "Trans Studies at the Commons" program. He stated, "The symposium offers a snapshot of how a massive charitable foundation, hand-in-hand with a nationwide network of scholars, has worked to elevate 'transgender studies' to the status of a legitimate academic field." Sailer's reporting suggests a strategic effort to institutionalize what he describes as a "highly politicized form of pseudo-scholarship."
The Mellon Foundation, the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities, announced its "Affirming Multivocal Humanities" initiative to champion scholarship and teaching in these disciplines. According to the foundation, this initiative addresses the need for nuanced scholarship on the breadth of human experience and supports academic freedom. Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation, affirmed, "We are proud to support colleges and universities in the United States that are advancing deep research and curricular engagement with the stories and histories of our country’s vast diversity."
Among the grants, the California State University system received $1.5 million to expand ethnic studies programs, with a focus on linking ethnic studies concepts to gender and sexuality studies. The University of Kansas's "Trans Studies at the Commons" project aims to establish a cohort model for scholar-activists and create a "trans-liberatory local and regional landscape." Sailer's article also pointed to specific projects, such as Penn State University's "Widening the Arc of Trans History" and UC Davis's project on "Trans Liberation in an Age of Fascism," each receiving half a million dollars.
Critics like Sailer argue that the foundation's funding fosters a "scholar-activist pipeline," shaping academic careers and potentially influencing the ideological direction of higher education. The foundation, however, maintains its commitment to building "just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking," emphasizing the essential role of the humanities and arts in human understanding.
