Sunday, June 29, 2014
Mellon's New Leader Reshaping Foundation's Public Face
Under the leadership of Earl Lewis, who was named president in March 2013, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is reviewing how it presents itself to the world and positions itself in public debates.
"If we believe in the value of the humanities and the arts ... there will come times for the Mellon foundation to say that. ... There are times when we should be below the fold. But there are times when we should be above the fold on certain critical issues," says Lewis.
Among the issues important to he foundation is diversity. On that topic, Lewis says, "Maybe what we can do better than any other foundation at this point in time is to underwrite research that demonstrates the importance of diversity, in all domains, to democratic societies."….