2027 Gaius Charles Bolin Dissertation and Post-MFA Fellowship: Philosophy

Williams College•Williamstown, NJ

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Gaius Charles Bolin Fellowships at Williams College are designed to strengthen and expand the professoriate by supporting scholars and artists whose research, teaching, and engagement contribute to inclusive and intellectually vibrant academic communities. Through sustained mentorship, professional development, and full participation in the intellectual life of the College, fellows are supported as they prepare for faculty careers. Established in 1985, the program supports advanced graduate students and post-MFA artists. Gaius Charles Bolin was the first Black graduate of Williams in 1889. He was an active and influential member of his class who went on to a successful career as a lawyer in Poughkeepsie, New York. Bolin also was a founding member of the local branch of the NAACP and was the first African American president of the Dutchess County Bar Association. In 1969, eighty years after Gaius Bolin graduated, Joseph E. Harris, the first Black tenure-line faculty member, was hired at Williams. In honoring this legacy, the fellowship supports scholars and artists whose research, teaching, and creative work expand the range of questions, perspectives, and communities represented in academic scholarship, and who are prepared to contribute to inclusive, rigorous, and collaborative academic environments. The Bolin Fellowship is structured as a two-year residency at Williams. Two scholars or artists are appointed each year. Fellows devote the bulk of the first year to the completion of dissertation work—or in the case of post-MFA applicants, building their professional portfolios—while also teaching one course as a faculty member in one of the college’s academic departments or programs. The second year of residency, preferably with a terminal degree in hand, is spent on academic career development while again teaching just one course. Through this structure, fellows gain experience as teacher-scholars while advancing significant scholarly or creative work.

Requirements

Advanced graduate student or post-MFA artist.
Research, teaching, and engagement that contribute to inclusive and intellectually vibrant academic communities.
Ability to expand the range of questions, perspectives, and communities represented in academic scholarship.
Prepared to contribute to inclusive, rigorous, and collaborative academic environments.
Possession of a terminal degree (preferably by the second year of residency).

Responsibilities

Complete dissertation work or build professional portfolios.
Teach one course as a faculty member in one of the college’s academic departments or programs.
Engage in academic career development.
Participate in the intellectual life of the College.