ACE has selected 38 emerging college and university leaders for the 2020-21 class of the
ACE Fellows Program, the longest-running leadership development program in the United States.
Since its inception in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program has strengthened institutions in American higher education by identifying and preparing over 2,000 faculty, staff, and administrators for senior positions in college and university leadership through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model. Of the Fellows who have participated to date, more than 80 percent have gone on after their fellowship to serve as chief executive officers, chief academic officers, other cabinet-level positions, and deans.
“The ACE Fellows program is unique in its ability to transform the lives and enrich the careers of its participants,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “After an intensive experience working with accomplished higher education leaders, the Fellows will return to their home campuses prepared to address the challenges of tomorrow.”
Click here to see the members of the 2020-21 class of Fellows.
The 2020-21 class represents the diversity of America’s higher education institutions by gender, race/ethnicity, institution type, and disciplinary background. For the first time ever, the 2020-21 class contains a 2 to 1 ratio of women to men. One-third of the class contains members of underrepresented groups.
The class also has a rich array of geographies and institutional missions, including two Fellows from service academies, one from an international institution, four from local (DC and Maryland) institutions and two from faith-based institutions. Nearly half of the class comes from private institutions.
“I am excited to welcome this diverse new class of Fellows and to see where their journeys take them,” said Sherri Lind Hughes, assistant vice president, ACE Professional Learning. “The lessons they learn and connections they make will last long beyond their Fellowship year.”
ACE and Lumina Foundation have partnered to offer a unique learning experience and a generous grant to one ACE Fellow who is interested in addressing educational quality and equity in student success as part of their Fellowship.
The program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year.
During the placement, Fellows observe and work with the president and other senior officers at their host institution, attend decision-making meetings, and focus on issues of interest. Fellows also conduct projects of pressing concern for their home institution and seek to implement their findings upon completion of the fellowship placement. Projects have included developing an internationalization process, designing a post-tenure review policy, creating a teaching-learning center, and crafting an initiative to support the academic success of first-generation college students.
At the conclusion of the fellowship year, Fellows return to their home institution with new knowledge and skills that contribute to capacity-building efforts, along with a network of peers across the country and abroad.
For more information, please click
here.