About RDI
RDI Fellows
Russ wyland
Dr. Russell Wyland is a nationally recognized leader in humanities research and grantmaking. He retired from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in June 2025 after 35 years of public service, during which he served as the agency’s first Director of Outreach; Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Division of Research Programs; and Program Officer in the NEH Fellowships programs. He has delivered more than 70 grant‑writing workshops and led major federal and philanthropic collaborations with the Mellon Foundation, the Trans‑Atlantic Platform, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Library of Congress, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the National Science Foundation. Russ is the principal author of Research Fellowships: An Evaluation of 2002–2004 Awards and is currently writing an open‑access Field Guide to Humanities Grant Writing, anticipated in mid‑2027 and supported by the University of South Florida. He received the Research Development Champion’s Award from the National Organization of Research Development Professionals and holds a PhD in English literature from the Catholic University of America. 
Russ is currently the Senior Research Fellow at USF’s Research Development Institute and a fellow at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center.