The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation combined its concern that few top flight scholars are choosing the humanities for careers and its awareness of the current oversupply of humanities faculty to create a $24 million fellowship program to direct talented graduate students into English and comparative literature, American studies, history, classics,…

It is argued that despite the decline of the humanities in higher education in the 20 years since the National Endowment for the Humanities came into existence, the agency has probably done much to promote the humanities and prevent further decline. (MSE)