ACLS Leading Edge Fellows: Information for Potential Host Organizations

ACLS invites letters of inquiry from organizations interested in hosting Leading Edge Fellows starting September 2024. Letters of Inquiry are due October 4th.

The ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship program offers recent humanities PhDs two-year fellowship positions with organizations dedicated to advancing justice and equity. The program demonstrates the capacity of those with advanced training in the humanities to contribute to timely and meaningful social justice work in communities across the country. The Leading Edge Fellowship program is administered by the American Council of Learned Societies and is made possible by the support of The Mellon Foundation. The program parameters, our criteria for selecting host organizations, and the process for submitting a letter of inquiry to our online portal are described below.

You can find a recording with more information about the program and how to apply to host a fellow here.

What kind of organization is eligible to host a Leading Edge Fellow?

ACLS will partner with a diverse group of organizations in each competition. Host organizations are selected according to the following criteria:

• Their mission and core work are dedicated to expanding equal access to education, economic resources, civic engagement, and/or civil rights across lines of racial, gender, and class difference;
• Maintaining a workplace that respects and values colleagues from diverse backgrounds;
• Their ability to support and devise substantive positions for fellows that meet the program’s goals of providing support to organizations working for social and economic justice in their communities and fostering meaningful work and professional development opportunities for recent PhDs;
• Their demonstrated capacity to provide mentorship, networking opportunities, and other career advancement support for the fellow; 
• Their standing in the sector(s) in which they operate; and
• Their contribution to the diversity of organizations represented in the year’s roster of partner organizations.

For this competition, ACLS is partnering exclusively with nonprofit organizations and government agencies whose mission and core work is dedicated to advancing social justice. ACLS does not accept applications from ACLS’s member organizations or from foundations. Since the program aims to demonstrate the value of humanities training beyond the academy, it does not place fellows in organizations that are located on college or university campuses.

How are Leading Edge Fellows selected to join my organization?

Applications to the Leading Edge Fellows program are subject to a multi-stage review process. Applications are reviewed first by a peer review committee of humanities PhDs working in a variety of professional contexts outside of the academy. Finalists identified by this process are forwarded to the host organization for a second round of review and interviews before an offer is made to the top candidate by ACLS. Fellows selected in this competition will join host organizations in two-year, full-time positions starting in September 2024.

What types of roles could a Fellow take at my organization?

Advanced training in the humanities imparts a diverse array of skills and competencies that entrepreneurial PhDs have successfully deployed in a variety of career fields. These skills include writing and research, project management, information management, strategic planning, interviewing, diverse cultural competencies, digital media production and more. In past rounds of this fellowship competition, ACLS has paired fellows and organizations for projects to advance policing reform, housing access, services for the elder LGBT community, reproductive rights, expanded SNAP benefits, voting rights, and more. Please review the listings of our current fellows selected in 2023 here.

How does my organization apply?

Prospective hosts should submit a letter of inquiry to our online portal by October 4, 2023. This portal will ask for your contact information, answers to a few questions about your work and workplace, and for an upload of a short position description, describing the work a fellow could undertake as a colleague at your organization.

After ACLS’s review a select group of organizations will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals will be due November 20^th, 2023, and include a 990 and letter of endorsement from a leader in your organization. See our FAQ for more details. If you have questions about the program or your organization’s suitability as a host, please contact us at [email protected].

Please submit your letter of inquiry no later than Wednesday, October 4th to our online portal: http://ofa.acls.org/proposal/leadingedgehost/

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a successful position description look like?

Leading Edge Fellowships offer recent PhDs in the humanities and humanistic social sciences opportunities to devote their research, project management, writing, and expressive capacities to projects and initiatives advancing justice and equity in society. Fellows’ portfolios should contribute to the core social justice work of the organization, or a particular capacity-building initiative to advance the organization’s mission.

Host organizations are expected to provide substantive roles, requisite resources and support, supervision and guidance, opportunities for networking, and mentorship. Each two-year placement should allow fellows to develop a portfolio of concrete accomplishments that will help them embark on careers in your sector after the fellowship.

What is included in the preliminary host organization letter of inquiry?

Our letter of inquiry portal asks for contact information, an upload of a draft position description for a Leading Edge Fellow at your organization, and answers to 4 questions about your work and workplace. Our system will accept an upload of up to two position descriptions. Please be prepared to enter your answers (max 500 words) to the following 4 questions:

• The Leading Edge program seeks host organizations whose mission and core work are dedicated to advancing social justice. Please include your organization’s mission statement, if applicable, and explain how your core work advances social justice. Please also identify which of these programs/initiatives you hope a Leading Edge Fellow might support in their role with your organization.
• ACLS is committed to diversity and inclusion in our programs and to partnering with organizations whose workplaces maintain and enforce policies committed to safety, dignity, ethical conduct, and freedom from discrimination. Please describe your organization’s policies and practices of inclusion and anti-discrimination.
• How will your organization be able to contribute to a fellow’s career development? What resources and opportunities can you offer a recent PhD building a career in your sector?
• Does your team operate primarily remotely, together in a physical office, or in a hybrid system? Would a fellow need to work in person at your office in order to contribute meaningfully to your work (for instance to run programs or to attend meetings and events)?

When will we know whether we’ve been selected to submit a full proposal?

ACLS will notify applicants of their status by November 1st.

What will be included in the full proposal?

You will be asked to prepare a more detailed version of the position description, a 990 form, benefits information, and a letter of endorsement from an organization leader with contracting authority. These full proposals will be due November 20th. You may also be asked to participate in a “virtual site visit” with an ACLS program officer in early December.

How do I submit our application?

Preliminary letters of inquiry will be accepted via our online portal until midnight ET on October 4, 2023. If you are invited to submit a full proposal, you will be notified and given instructions for submission by early November.

Are these fellowships offered remotely, or for in-person work at the host organization’s offices?

Leading Edge Fellows work in person, remotely, or in a hybrid format according to the practices of the host organization and the specific requirements of their position/role. We understand that remote work may emerge given public health circumstances, and organizations that operate remotely by default are eligible to host a fellow. Our preference is for the fellows to be onboarded and given the onsite resources that are customary for staff at a commensurate level of seniority in the host organization. If you organization’s work culture is primarily remote, please let us know in Question 4 on the submission portal.

Contact

If you have questions about the program or your organization’s suitability as a host, please contact us at [email protected].

Submit your letter of inquiry by October 4th to our online portal.