In 1986 the Bloomington Faculty Council expressed its commitment to increasing the presence of minority faculty on the Bloomington campus by establishing the Minority Faculty Fellowship Program. Sponsored by the Vice-President's office, MFFP has just completed its ninth year.
Some former fellows are now full-time faculty members.
Directed by Alberto Torchinsky, Dean of Latino Affairs and a professor in the mathematics department, the Minority Faculty Fellowship Program brings African American, Hispanic American and Native American scholars to the campus for summer or academic-year appointments. The program's primary goals are to increase minority representation on the Bloomington campus, to introduce promising new scholars to the academic departments and programs here, and to give minority scholars an opportunity to gain experience and professional diversity by teaching and conducting research at one of the top universities in the country.