Applications are open for the 2025-26 cohort of the
ACE Fellows Program, the nation’s premier higher education leadership development program. The program has served more than 2,500 higher education leaders over nearly 60 years. The deadline
to apply is Friday, Nov. 8.The ACE Fellows Program equips emerging higher education leaders with the knowledge, experience, and skills to be nimble throughout their careers and make a lasting impact on their institutions. More than 80 percent of ACE Fellows have gone on to serve in influential roles such as chief executive officers, chief academic officers, and deans. The program’s documented success and its unique combination of on-the-job training, skills development, and policy analysis make it the most effective leadership development program in U.S. higher education.
“I think the benefit of the ACE Fellows Program is that it gives you that year to really focus on yourself, think about the role that you have as a leader in American higher education, and how you can do that from a place of relationship building, collaboration, self-reflection, and connection to a mission,”
said Marisol Morales, a 2024-25 ACE Fellow, executive director of the Carnegie Elective Classifications, and assistant vice president at ACE.
ACE Fellows dive deep into a dynamic curriculum, engage in hands-on learning, and collaborate on impactful activities. They learn from renowned ACE experts, national and local leaders in higher education, and seasoned mentors both within and outside the program. Throughout the year, Fellows set specific learning goals and tackle a chosen topic or challenge in postsecondary education policy, allowing them to make a meaningful impact in their disciplines or the higher education sector at large.
ACE encourages candidates from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, functional areas, and institutional sectors to apply. Individuals from community colleges and minority serving institutions are especially encouraged to submit an application. The ACE Fellows Program is thrilled to support those who are eager to explore pathways to senior leadership in higher education and taking their leadership journeys to the next level.
Learn more here about the application, nomination, sponsorship and placement processes.
Please email
fellows@acenet.edu with any questions or to receive more information.