Elizabeth Alexander—poet, educator, memoirist, scholar, and cultural advocate—is president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest funder in arts and culture, and humanities in higher education. With more than two decades of experience leading innovative programs in education, philanthropy, and beyond, Ms. Alexander builds partnerships at Mellon to support the arts and humanities while strengthening educational institutions and cultural organizations across the world.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Alexander served as the director of Creativity and Free Expression at the Ford Foundation, shaping Ford’s grantmaking vision in arts and culture, journalism, and documentary film. There, she co-designed the Art for Justice Fund—an initiative that uses art and advocacy to address the crisis of mass incarceration—and guided the organization in examining how the arts and visual storytelling can empower communities.
Over the course of a distinguished career in education, Ms. Alexander has taught and inspired a generation of students. She was the Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University from 2015 until joining the Foundation in 2018. Between 2000 and 2015, Ms. Alexander taught at Yale University, where she was a professor in the departments of African American Studies, American Studies, and English, helping rebuild the school's African American Studies department while serving as its chair for four years. In 2015, she was appointed Yale University's inaugural Frederick Iseman Professor of Poetry. At Smith College, Ms. Alexander was the Grace Hazard Conkling Poet-in-Residence and the inaugural director of the Poetry Center. While an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, she was awarded the Quantrell Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
An author or co-author of fourteen books, Ms. Alexander was twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize: for poetry with American Sublime and for biography with her 2015 memoir, The Light of the World. Her poetry and essays include Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems, 1990–2010 (2010), Power and Possibility: Essays, Reviews, Interviews (2007), American Sublime (2005), The Black Interior: Essays (2004), Antebellum Dream Book (2001), Body of Life (1996), and The Venus Hottentot (1990). Accolades for her work include the Jackson Poetry Prize, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, the George Kent Award, the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and three Pushcart Prizes for Poetry. In 2009, Ms. Alexander composed and delivered a poem, "Praise Song for the Day," for President Barack Obama's inauguration.
Alexander earned a BA from Yale University, an MA from Boston University, and a PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds honorary doctorates from Yale University, Haverford College, Simmons College, and the College of St. Benedict. Ms. Alexander is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and serves on the board of the Pulitzer Prize.
Related News
January 6, 2021
An article in the Washingtonian.
October 11, 2020
An op-ed by Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander on Salon.com
October 5, 2020
A press release from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
October 5, 2020
A video of a Washington Post Live conversation with Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander.
August 13, 2020
An article in the Wall Street Journal.
July 27, 2020
An episode of NBC News' Into America podcast.
July 17, 2020
Coverage from the Associated Press and other outlets.
July 2, 2020
Recent news coverage.
June 30, 2020
A segment on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show.
June 30, 2020
In partnership with Yale Law School’s Justice Collaboratory, the Mellon Foundation announces the launch of the Million Book Project at prisons across the United States.
June 30, 2020
Mellon Announces New Mission, Program Areas, Goals, and Philanthropic Strategy to Support the Arts and Humanities. New Focus on Building Just Communities across America Comes As National Spotlight Shines on Social Inequity.
June 30, 2020
Mellon Foundation President on Elizabeth Alexander Cape Up Washington Post podcast.
June 30, 2020
An article in The New York Times.
June 19, 2020
An interview in the New York Times.
June 19, 2020
A podcast episode featuring Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander.
June 15, 2020
An essay by Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander in The New Yorker.
May 5, 2020
An episode of the Helga Davis Show on WNYC featuring Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander.
April 8, 2020
Mellon Foundation and other funders spearhead $10 million relief campaign for artists affected by COVID-19.
April 8, 2020
An op-ed on Artnet by Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander and Sarah Arison.
March 26, 2020
The Mellon Foundation is committed to doing its part to aid nonprofits serving New Yorkers during the COVID-19 crisis and hopes others will join.
March 20, 2020
News articles about the NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund.
March 11, 2020
Archive features powerful images cataloguing 20th-century African American life; collection will remain housed in Chicago for processing before donation to cultural institutions.
March 11, 2020
Coverage from NBC News and other outlets.
January 30, 2020
An article in the New York Times.
January 27, 2020
An article in The New Yorker.
December 16, 2019
A letter to the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education.
December 11, 2019
An interview in the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
November 25, 2019
A short documentary directed by Stanley Nelson.
November 18, 2019
A press release issued by Prairie View A&M University.
November 6, 2019
Coverage in The New York Times, Vogue, Forbes, and Bloomberg.
October 22, 2019
A press release issued by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
October 22, 2019
An article in the Boston Globe.
October 8, 2019
An article in the Harvard Crimson.
October 3, 2019
A press release from Rutgers University-Newark.
July 25, 2019
Articles in the New York Times, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, and elsewhere.
July 25, 2019
The archive of Johnson Publishing Company, publisher of the iconic Ebony and Jet magazines, is to be donated for public benefit and broadest possible access.
July 5, 2019
The Associated Press and other sources report on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.
June 18, 2019
Inside Philanthropy reports on Mellon's support prison education and reentry as a means for easing the transition from incarceration to society, reducing recidivism and the human costs of mass incarceration.
June 13, 2019
Insight into Diversity reports on Mellon's support for organizations that focus on helping incarcerated individuals earn college degrees, which has amounted to nearly $18 million in grants since 2015.
June 13, 2019
Grants deepen Mellon’s years-long commitment to expanding educational opportunities for the incarcerated.
May 22, 2019
“What is the power of your words once you are in the room? What can you do with your words to move us closer to beloved community?” The Washington Square News reports on Elizabeth Alexander’s speech to NYU’s Class of 2019.
May 18, 2019
Mellon President Elizabeth Alexander and others share their experiences and insight with graduates on the eve of Smith College's commencement.
May 3, 2019
An article in Publishers Weekly on recent grants to the Academy of American Poets.
April 25, 2019
The Associated Press reports on the 17th annual Poetry & the Creative Mind benefit, presented by the Academy of American Poets and hosted by Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander.
April 25, 2019
Coverage in the New York Times and elsewhere on the Academy of American Poets' inaugural Poets Laureate Fellowships.
April 18, 2019
An article in the Post and Courier.
April 17, 2019
New members for 2019 include Mellon Foundation President and poet Elizabeth Alexander, former First Lady Michele Obama, gender theorist Judith Butler, actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, and others.
April 12, 2019
The New York Times reports on NXTHVN, a nonprofit arts incubator and fellowship program founded by Titus Kaphar to nurture rising talents.
April 8, 2019
A press release from NYU.
March 27, 2019
An announcement from Duke University.
February 7, 2019
Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander speaks about creative vision and connection in a special issue of Time magazine edited by Ava Duvernay.
January 15, 2019
Articles in The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and elsewhere on two new grants to The Academy of American Poets in support of the Poetry Coalition and to launch a new fellowship program for local Poets Laureate.
December 9, 2018
An article in Diverse: Issues in Education.
October 31, 2018
An event featuring Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander and painter Amy Sherald.
September 13, 2018
An article in the Yale Daily News.
July 21, 2018
An article in The New York Times.
June 16, 2018
An article on Stanford News.
May 21, 2018
A communication from Yale News.
April 6, 2018
Mellon Foundation President, Elizabeth Alexander to deliver baccalaureate speech at Stanford University.
February 14, 2018
Announcements from the American Booksellers Association.
February 13, 2018
An article from Le Quotidien de I'Art.
February 12, 2018
An article from The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
February 9, 2018
Announcements from Hyperallergic.
February 8, 2018
Announcements from artnet news.
February 8, 2018
An article from Apollo.
February 8, 2018
An article from Inside Philanthropy.
February 8, 2018
An article from Philanthropy News Digest.
February 8, 2018
An article from The Non Profit Times.
February 8, 2018
An article from Diverse Issues in Higher Education.
February 8, 2018
An article from Inside Higher Ed.
February 8, 2018
An article from Leadership Connect.
February 7, 2018
An article from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
February 7, 2018
An article from Yale News.
February 7, 2018
An article from Artforum.
February 7, 2018
An article from Town&Country.
February 7, 2018
An article from the Poetry Foundation.
February 7, 2018
An article from The New York Times.
February 7, 2018
An article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
February 7, 2018
Alexander, a leading literary voice and academic visionary, to guide the Mellon Foundation as it seeks to enhance and extend its commitment to the arts and humanities through support for higher education, diversity outreach, and artistic and cultural organizations.
