Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and established in 1990 at Brown University to help address the barriers that result in the problem of underrepresentation in the faculty ranks of higher education, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is committed to supporting a diverse professoriate and to promoting the value of multivocality in the humanities and related disciplines, elevating accounts, interpretations, and narratives that expand present understandings. Its name honors Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the noted African American educator, statesman, minister, and former president of Morehouse College.

Nationally, the program has produced more than 1,100 PhDs, almost 800 of whom are currently college professors and 300 of whom are pursuing other careers. Each year, about 800 MMUF fellows are enrolled in PhD programs, while the fellowship supports approximately 500 undergraduate students.