Seven fellowships honoring Professor Lauren Muller's legacy of Beloved Community at City College of San Francisco.
"To be young, to be a little lost, to be insecure and here was this professor admired by the best people, profoundly intelligent and insightful... and she chose you, she saw something in you."
Lauren Muller
Lauren spent over two decades at City College of San Francisco building spaces where poetry, justice, and community could flourish.
As chair of Interdisciplinary Studies, she created programs in Poetry for the People, Critical Pacific Islands & Oceania Studies, Critical Middle East/SWANA Studies, Trauma Prevention and Recovery, and more—always with the belief that everyone deserves a place in the classroom.
Lauren called this vision "Beloved Community": a space of connection, shared learning, and collective care.
These fellowships carry her work forward.
"She said, 'Anybody that shows up in my office tomorrow, I will pay your fees for enrolling.' I accepted the challenge; she kept her word. Now, fast forward ten years later I have graduated three times, four degrees later, and now a professor myself!"
Her legacy, now your journey.
For 2026–2027, we're awarding seven fellowships—one for each program Lauren developed or envisioned during her tenure.
Each fellow receives $300 to support their journey.
The Lauren Muller Beloved Fellowships support students pursuing certificates and degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies at CCSF. But this is more than financial support—it's an invitation to join a community.
As a fellow, you'll be part of a cohort that collaborates, shares experiences, and builds the kind of connection and belonging that Lauren championed throughout her life.
Ready to apply?
To be eligible, you must:
Have completed one of the courses listed on the scholarship page.
Be enrolled in 6 or more units
Have completed at least 6 units of coursework
Have a minimum 2.7 GPA
Be continuing at CCSF or transferring to a 4-year university
Deadline: April 6, 2026
Fellows are encouraged to reapply in future years as they continue their studies.
"Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives."
- Dr. Martin Luther King
The Lauren Muller Beloved Fellowship Fund was born from a community.
Friends, family, colleagues, and former students who treasured Lauren came together to create the inaugural fund—honoring a teacher who spent her career building spaces where poetry, justice, and community could flourish.
Thanks to their generosity, the first cohort of CCSF students will receive support as they pursue certificates and degrees in Interdisciplinary Studies—and carry forward the vision of Beloved Community that Lauren championed throughout her life.
Want to join and follow along?
Share your email below.
We'll announce our first fellows in May 2026 and let you know when the next round of giving opens.
With so much gratitude to the founding donors:
Roni Abusaad • Kinneret Alexander • Emily Ambler • Elaine Avrus • Carol Badran • Jean Barash • Timothy Berthold • Shanti Brien • Shari Brownfield • Sheena Burton • Rachel Cantor • Adele Carpenter • Patty Chapman • Neela Chatterjee • James Connors • Jennifer Davidson • Dima and Junichi • Matthew Duckworth • Kathleen Duffy • Angelina M FA • Ashley Ferguson • Elaine Franklin • Cynthia Franklin • Erika Gentry • Maggie Harrison • John Ho • Meg Hudson • Abdul Jabbar • Mr. & Mrs. Kvavilashvili Sandoval • Niniko Kikilashvili • Meredith Knight • Liza Kramer • Carlita Martinez • Nina Markov • Susan Marsh • Leila May • Anita Martinez • Judith Michaels • Ariel Muller • Angela Newsham • Cynthia Obenchain • Robin Packel • Ramsay Breslin • Penny Rosenwasser • Lisa Robertson • Steven Rubio • Christina Saunders • Katherine Schultz • Solmaz Sharif • Leslie Simon • Janey Skinner • Ann Smith • Carol Tateishi • Sarah Thompson • Carly Tillotson • Edgar Torres • James Tracy • Amy Unfried • Adolfo Velasquez • Venus Jones • Arnold Warshaw • Ann Wettrich • Kathleen White • Zheng Zhang • Anonymous (4 donors)
THIS UNRULY WITNESS
Lauren co-edited This Unruly Witness: An Anthology for June Jordan, a collection curated for people who see love as a life force, who seek a community that can sustain us, and who know that "we are the ones we have been waiting for." Celebrating the life and legacy of poet activist June Jordan, this collection illuminates why we need Jordan more than ever.
Featuring a foreword by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and an afterword by Imani Perry, the book brings together essays, poems, letters, and interviews from internationally acclaimed poets and thinkers including Angela Davis, Pratibha Parmar, Margo Okazawa-Rey, Naomi Shihab Nye, Afaa M. Weaver, E. Ethelbert Miller, and many others touched by Jordan's work.
All proceeds from Lauren's editorial work support the Lauren Muller Beloved Fellowship Fund.
