Grant provides paid internships for VSU students
Published 4:08 pm Monday, February 3, 2025
- Submitted photo: The three authors of the grant proposal to the Mellon Foundation are (left to right): Dr. Mark Smith, Dr. Toni Gazda, and Dr. James LaPlant.
VALDOSTA — The Mellon Foundation has awarded Valdosta State University a $2.2 million grant that will provide paid internship opportunities over the next five years for humanities students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Additionally, VSU Foundation Inc. will raise $250,000 to sustain this initiative beyond the five years, and the Mellon Foundation will provide $250,000 in matching funds for an endowment. That puts the total award from the Mellon Foundation at $2.45 million.
The grant will provide $5,000 stipends to VSU students in the humanities who engage in internships focused on social justice. Students eligible for the paid internships include majors in Modern and Classical Languages, History, English, and Interdisciplinary Studies (must have at least one humanities concentration) as well as minors in Africana Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies.
Drs. James LaPlant, Mark Smith, and Toni Gazda wrote the grant proposal. It is titled “Promoting Social Justice in the Wiregrass through Internships in the Humanities.”
“This funding serves as a powerful reminder that the humanities are alive and well,” said LaPlant, professor and dean of VSU’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We are thrilled to provide these incredible experiential opportunities for our students.”
Smith, professor and associate dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said, “Our students want to be agents of change, and this grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow them to truly make a difference in our community.”
Gazda, associate professor of English and coordinator of Africana Studies, added, “This initiative will build an academic culture in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences that is focused on social justice. That includes a certificate in social justice being developed in the first year of the grant.”
The paid internships will involve local governments, nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, museums, and historical societies in South Georgia with which the College of Humanities and Social Sciences already has longstanding relationships. While face-to-face students will be prioritized when assigning internships, online students will also have an opportunity to take part in this initiative.
The grant also supports a Community Internship Expo each semester where students will share their internship experiences and work products. VSU’s Office of Career Opportunities and Volunteer Services will provide support for students during their internships. VSU faculty and student interns will also engage with community members on topics of social justice and the role of the humanities during Community Dialogue events throughout South Georgia.
Funding for the first year of the grant will arrive in time for the paid internships to start in January 2025.
