Harryette Mullen, a scholar of English and African American Literature from the UCLA College of Letters and Science, has received a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation -- an award that is among the most prestigious honors presented to scholars, artists and writers.

Mullen was among four faculty from UCLA who received Guggenheim Fellowships for 2005. The Guggenheim Foundation awards the fellowships for "unusually distinguished achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment."

Mullen will use her Guggenheim Fellowship to conduct research on her American ancestors with the goal of writing a creative family history. An award-winning poet, Mullen was a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award in Poetry for her collection, Sleeping with the Dictionary.

The other new Guggenheim Fellows from UCLA and their areas of interest are:

* Donald J. Cosentino, a professor of cultural studies, who is researching a Los Angeles priestshaman and his Congo spirit.

* Simone Forti, a choreographer and adjunct assistant professor of dance, who will work on improvisation with movement and language, including collaborative research and performances with her Los Angeles colleagues.

* Victoria E. Marks, a choreographer and professor of choreography and performance, whose project is to create performance work with disabled veterans.

The new Guggenheim Fellows at UCLA are among 186 artists, scholars and scientists selected to receive awards totaling $7.1 million. Guggenheim fellowships are grants made for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 months. The average grant in 2005 is about $38,000.

The Guggenheim foundation has awarded almost $240 million in fellowships to more than 15,500 individuals

The Guggenheim Fellowship recipients include poets, novelists, playwrights, painters, sculptors, photographers, film makers, choreographers, scientists, and scholars in the liberal arts.

Recipients of Guggenheim Fellowships are selected by a committee of scholars from universities and institutes nationwide.