The university's College of Arts and Sciences recently received a $3.174 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of a new department of Indigenous Studies. To be launched over the next four years, the proposed department will focus on humanities-centered research, educational programs and community outreach aimed at addressing key issues central to indigenous life in the region, as identified by faculty, students, alumni and community stakeholders from the surrounding Haudenosaunee territories, on which the UB campus is located.