Troy University has selected its 2026 Mellon Fellows, a significant milestone in the University’s Mellon-funded initiative, “(Re)reading Alabama’s Cultural Archives: Connecting Place to Its Multitudes,” that will digitize and expand access to cultural productions related to social justice through a publicly accessible digital archive hosted by the Troy University Library.
Designed to operate outside traditional coursework, the Mellon Fellowship program provides faculty, students and community partners the flexibility to pursue sustained, in-depth research, collaborate across disciplines and present their work at academic and public forums.
“The Mellon Fellowship program represents an important step in strengthening Troy University’s research profile while remaining grounded in community engagement,” said Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. “As TROY continues its trajectory toward increased research activity, initiatives like this are essential.”
The 2026 Mellon Fellows are:
- Dr. Shari Hoppin, faculty Fellow, Associate Professor, Hall School of Journalism and Communication, “Indigenous Narratives in Alabama”
- Will Jacks, faculty Fellow, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Design, “Echoes of Place: Provenance and Memory in the Troy Art Collection”
- Jacob Frye, undergraduate Fellow, “Adding African American Folklore to Alabama’s Official Archives”
- Tyquavious Deundre Hurley, undergraduate Fellow, “Roots in the Red Dirt: Documenting Black Rural Traditions and Reclaiming Cultural Memory in Alabama”
- Kevin King, community Fellow, Founder/Executive Director of The King’s Canvas, “Creative Placemaking in Alabama: A Cultural Landscape Snapshot Through Community Storytelling”
- Laura King, community Fellow, “The Voices & Experiences of Enslaved Families: An Oral History and Genealogical Project”
“The work of the 2026 Mellon Fellows will have a lasting impact on how Alabama’s stories are preserved and shared,” said Dr. Kerry Palmer, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “The strength of this cohort lies in its diversity of perspectives and its connection to communities across the state.”
The largest grant in the history of the College of Arts and Humanities and delivered through the University Honors Global Scholars Program, the $449,000 Mellon Foundation grant allows the Fellows to engage in a three-year interdisciplinary exploration of Alabama’s cultural history that emphasizes collaboration across disciplines and communities, ensuring that research is both academically rigorous and grounded in lived experience.
Through the Mellon Fellowship program, Troy University is supporting faculty in producing innovative, interdisciplinary scholarship while cultivating the next generation of scholars and advancing public knowledge, said Project Lead Dr. Priya Menon.
“As project lead, I see this initiative as an opportunity to bring together research, teaching and community engagement in meaningful ways,” she said. “By working across disciplines and with our partners, we are not only preserving Alabama’s cultural narratives but also creating pathways for students and faculty to engage deeply with questions of place, history and social justice.”
About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.
