NYC Gazette

The A'Lelia Bundles Community Scholars program at Columbia University has announced a new partnership with Incite Institute to offer enhanced funding, mentorship, skill-building, and networking opportunities for program participants. This collaboration aims to provide additional resources for scholars to make meaningful contributions to their communities and beyond.

Interim Provost Dennis Mitchell expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, "The new partnership with Incite will allow the program to grow and reflects the university’s commitment to bringing together the best minds, to dismantling barriers to success, and to supporting work that enhances life on campus, in our community, and across the globe."

Deb Sack, vice president of operations in the Office of Public Affairs, highlighted the importance of empowering scholars through this collaboration, saying, "More than a decade since the program was founded as a way to give community members in Upper Manhattan access to the resources of Columbia University, this collaboration will further empower scholars to make meaningful contributions to their communities and beyond."

Troy Eggers, dean of the Columbia University School of Professional Studies, expressed the school's support for the initiative, stating, "We are excited to see what innovations and support that Incite will bring to this important community initiative."

Michael Falco, Incite executive director, emphasized the institute's mission to engage with alternate sites of knowledge and accelerate the work of the local community. Falco stated, "Linking with the Bundles Scholars, and its decade of supporting and welcoming our neighbors, is an exciting way for Incite to continue to engage with alternate sites of knowledge and to help accelerate the work of our local community with the profound administrative and intellectual resources Columbia offers."

Incite, an interdisciplinary institute at Columbia University, aims to produce knowledge for public action by collaborating with individuals and organizations both within and outside the university. The partnership with Bundles Scholars program will enhance the ways in which scholars connect with the university's intellectual life and community resources.

The Bundles Scholars program, a joint initiative of Columbia University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs, Office of the Provost, and School of Professional Studies, is now accepting applications for its next cohort. The deadline to apply is May 13, 2024.