Provost Holloway appointed to Mellon Foundation Board

Northwestern University Provost Jonathan Holloway is the newest member of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Board of Trustees, where he will work alongside leading thinkers to strengthen, promote and defend the humanities and the arts for just and democratic societies. 

“Through his renowned scholarship, Jonathan has helped uncover and preserve this country’s rich history, and through his institutional leadership, he has demonstrated the centrality of the humanities to creating broadly engaged communities,” said Elizabeth Alexander, president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in an announcement Thursday. “Jonathan exemplifies Mellon’s values, and we are thrilled that he will be a partner in our work.”

Holloway has served as provost and professor of history and African American Studies since 2017. He is stepping down on March 31 to assume the presidency of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey on July 1, 2020.   

Before joining Northwestern, Holloway was the dean of Yale College and Edmund S. Morgan Professor of African American Studies, History, and American Studies at Yale University. 

“It is an incredible honor to join the Mellon Foundation Board of Trustees. At a time of increased polarization and threats to the arts and humanities, Mellon’s mission is needed now more than ever to tell the untold stories and use the humanities to inspire and shape future leaders,” said Holloway. “I look forward to working with President Elizabeth Alexander and my fellow trustees to further strengthen and support Mellon’s work to ensure we deliver a more just society.”