The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded Harvard a $1.4-million grant for a five-year program of fellowships for junior faculty in the humanities, Dean Rosovsky announced yesterday.

The grant is one of eight the foundation has awarded to several private universities known as research centers in an effort to aid the humanities programs, a spokesman for the foundation said last week.

Under the terms of the grant, the University must award at least 55 fellowships to junior faculty members from across the country during the five years. Rosovsky said ten to 12 fellowships will be awarded each year of the program.

Recruit the Best

Rosovsky said the fellowships, which will be granted for one year with the option of renewal for a second year, will be used "to recruit the best people we can find who are not on tracks to permanent appointments or whose tenure prospects are not appropriate to their talents and promise."

The fellowships will entail some teaching at the undergraduate level here, but will allow time for study and research. Fellows will receive stipends of about $12,000 a year, he said, adding "It's not really that much money."

Phyllis Keller, assistant dean of the Faculty, who was instrumental in formulating the proposal, was unavailable for comment last night.