Hundreds of higher education leaders from across the country
and around the world weathered a snowstorm to gather in Washington, DC, this
week during a rapidly and radically shifting federal policy landscape for the ACE
Experience 2025 (ACEx2025).
A flurry of early
executive orders, a funding
freeze, and drastic
cuts to National Institutes of Health funding are just some of the actions higher
education has faced under the new Trump administration. Attendees at ACEx2025,
the premier higher education gathering, worked to make sense of these policies,
while exploring a wide array of other issues impacting higher education.
“America needs higher education once again,” ACE President
Ted Mitchell said during his State of Higher Education address. “This is our
moment.”
The two-day event—bookended by other gatherings—featured
engaging sessions covering topics ranging from college athletics to student
mental health to the new
Carnegie Classifications for research activity and nearly everything in
between. A common thread, however, centered on the belief that higher education
builds—and must continue building—America.
“No nation has ever built up its people by tearing down its
schools,” Mitchell said. “And we will not be that nation. We believe higher
education builds America.”
See below for a wrap up of ACEx2025, as well as the
inaugural ACE on the Hill, the Women’s Leadership Conference, Council of
Fellows events, and awards presented at the meeting.
Opening Day of ACEx2025 Addresses Challenges and Opportunities
for Higher Ed
After Félix
V. Matos Rodríguez, chair of the ACE Board and chancellor of the City
University of New York, kicked off the meeting, Mitchell gave a speech on the
state of higher education that focused on threats to the sector and,
critically, the need for higher education to remain unified.
“Let’s remember that we are in this together,” Mitchell
said. “There will people who seek to divide us and we must ignore them.”
Attendees then broke into smaller concurrent sessions on a
range of topics like the value of higher education, reimagining accreditation,
and immersive technology, before reconvening for a session on free speech in
higher education featuring Washington Post reporter Laura Meckler and
Wesleyan University President Michael Roth.
“Our schools need to defend our missions,” Roth said.
After a lunch break, Tony Bennett, former Dean and Markel
Families men’s basketball coach at the University of Virginia, and Christine
Bennett, award-winning national sports columnist, had a robust conversation on the
rapidly changing world of college athletics and its impact on higher education
institutions before taking audience questions.
After a second round of concurrent sessions on a variety of
topics like student mental health, building inclusive institutions, and Inside
Higher Ed’s What Keeps Presidents Up at Night session, attendees reconvened
for the final session of the day featuring a panel of international university
leaders that examined global perspectives on the state of higher education.
An energetic opening day concluded with an inspiring
performance by the Coppin State University Gospel Choir, followed by a lively
networking reception.
New Carnegie Classifications Highlight Final Day of
ACEx2025
The final day of ACEx2025 began with a discussion between Jon
Fansmith, ACE’s senior vice president of Government Relations and National
Engagement, and Jessie Brown, ACE’s senior vice president and chief of staff,
on the latest developments in federal higher education policy.
Fansmith updated attendees on the rapidly evolving federal
policy landscape before he and Brown answered questions about the latest
developments and what’s to come. They also emphasized the urgency for leaders
to advocate for higher education.
“It is a critical moment to make your voices heard on behalf
of your students and institutions on how higher education builds a stronger
America,” Fansmith said.
“Representatives in Washington would prefer to hear from
their own constituents,” Brown added.
The second of three plenary sessions stepped back from the
current policy landscape to examine another critical issue impacting higher
education: changing demographics. In a discussion moderated by ACE’s Nick
Anderson, Nathan Grawe, Carleton College professor; Patrick Lane, vice president,
policy analysis and research vice president at the Western Interstate
Commission for Higher Education; and Jeff Strohl, director of the Center on
Education and the Workforce, explored how shifting demographics present both
challenges and opportunities for higher education.
The final session of ACEx2025 showcased the Carnegie
Classifications’ newly updated research activity designations methodology, which
is intended to better account for and reflect the multifaceted, wide-ranging
research landscape of higher education institutions in the United States. Mushtaq
Gunja, executive director of the Carnegie Classification systems, opened the
session by detailing revised methodology before moderating a discussion featuring
Valerie Smith, Swarthmore College president; Ben Vinson III, Howard University
president; and ACE’s Mitchell.
The always-inspiring Freeman A. Hrabowski III, ACE
Centennial Fellow and president emeritus of the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, closed out the Experience with a rousing speech that had
audience members on their feet, cheering, and energized to continue their work.
Reflecting on his experiences from the 1960s Civil Rights
Movement, Hrabowski said faith and determination are essential in difficult
times.
"As awful as things can get, I believe in this country,”
Hrabowski said. “I believe in the people here. And I know education makes the
difference.”
Women’s Leadership Network, Council of Fellows Hold
Annual Events; ACE Holds Inaugural Hill Day
While the two-day ACEx2025 was the centerpiece of ACE’s week
of convenings, several other gatherings occurred, including annual traditions
and an event held for the very first time.
On Tuesday, ACE held its inaugural Day
on the Hill where dozens of college presidents, representing the full
spectrum of higher education, gathered to advocate for higher education.
“Congress needs to hear from us now and they need to hear
from us vigorously,” Mitchell told presidents before they met with members of Congress
to advocate for higher education.
The day opened with informative and engaging panel
discussions with congressional staff working on issues impacting higher
education before attendees met with members of Congress. You can read more
about the event here.
Right after the conclusion of ACEx2025, two annual convenings
kicked off: the Women’s Network Leadership Conference (WNLC) and the Council of
Fellows Gathering (COF Gathering).
The WNLC, aligned with the Moving
the Needle: Advancing Women in Higher Education Leadership initiative, focused
on advancing women in leadership and preparing women leaders and state network
chairs for upcoming challenges and policy changes under this new policy
landscape.
Hollie Chessman, ACE’s director and principal program officer, unveiled a new toolkit, “Preparing for a Presidential or Executive-Level Search in Higher
Education: A Guide for Women in Leadership.” Developed by members of the ACE Women’s Network
Executive Council, this guide for women, women of color, and women-identifying
candidates addresses possible disconnects between these candidates during the
executive-level search process.
The two-day event featured sessions on personalized
leadership, catalyzing change, and the future of higher education. It also
included the annual ACE Women’s Leadership Dinner that featured Belle Wheelan,
president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges (SACSCOC).
The COF Gathering, an annual convening of ACE Fellows
Program alumni, featured programming that allowed participants to engage with
other ACE Fellows and reflect on their fellowship experiences.
The Fellows had an extra special gathering this year as ACE
hosted the Fellows Program 60th Anniversary Event on Wednesday, which honored
those who have shaped the program into the transformative force it is today.
Read more about the Fellows
Program here.
Multiple Annual Award Winners Announced at ACEx2025
As is tradition, ACE was thrilled to celebrate the recipients
of annual awards at various events throughout the week.
During the opening session, Mildred García, chancellor of
the California State University, was awarded the 2025
TIAA Institute Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher
Education.
Richard Helldobler, president of William Paterson
University, was honored with the 2025
ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award at the ACE Fellows
Program 60th Anniversary Celebration.
During the closing session of ACEx2025, Rio Salado College
and Windward Community College were announced as the recipients of the 2025
ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation.
Closing out ACE’s 2025 annual awards, Belle Wheelan,
president SACSCOC, was awarded the 2025
Donna Shavlik Award at the ACE Women’s Leadership Dinner. Additionally, South
Carolina Women in Higher Education received the 2025
ACE State Network Leadership Award at the dinner.