Musicologist Cesar Favila named Mellon Emerging Faculty Leader and ACLS Fellow

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Cesar-Favila
Cesar Favila

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music is thrilled to congratulate Cesar Favila, assistant professor of musicology, who has received support  for his book project, “Immaculate Sounds: The Musical Lives of Nuns in New Spain.” Favila has been named a Mellon Emerging Faculty Leader by The Institute for Citizens & Scholars and an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow

“These recent accolades for my research would not be possible were it not for the intellectual stimulation from my colleagues and students at UCLA, to whom I am so grateful,” said Favila. He researches the convents of pre-independence Mexico as cultural sites where all the arts–literature, visual, musical–worked together “to create an atmosphere of devotion so foreign to us now-a-days that it continues to cause wonder.” 

Both awards are among the most prestigious available for early-career scholars. The ACLS fellowship program has long been recognized as one of the leading supporters of exceptional scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. ACLS Fellows are selected through a rigorous, multi-stage peer review process. Fellows receive funding designed to support institutional leave in order to concentrate on research and writing. Receiving ACLS support is a high mark of national excellence. 

The Institute for Citizens & Scholars has named 10 scholars nationwide as Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders (MEFL) for 2022. Funded by the Mellon Foundation, the MEFL Awards support junior faculty whose research focuses on contemporary American history, politics, culture, and society, and whose commitment to the creation of an inclusive campus community for underrepresented students and scholars marks them as among the next generation of leaders.

Cesar Favila’s work as a mentor has been recognized as well. Favila has received the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Mentorship Award for his work in mentoring Herman Chavez, an outstanding undergraduate at UCLA. 

Congratulations to Professor Favila for making a difference with impactful scholarship in his field and mentorship here at UCLA. 

Learn more about Cesar Favila, the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award, and the American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship program