ACE Report Underscores Need for Comprehensive Leadership Development
February 06, 2017

​Today’s higher education landscape requires leaders who are adept at navigating the array of challenging and evolving demographic, economic and cultural transitions confronting colleges and universities.

In order to do so, according to a new report released today by ACE, professional leadership development needs to prepare individuals to operate from a positional and collective approach that benefits the individual, the institution, and ultimately the enterprise.

The report, “Looking Back and Looking Forward: A Review of the ACE Fellows Program,” shares select findings from a comprehensive review of the Council’s signature leadership development program to promote dialogue on a collective investment in the future of college and university leadership. The report also reinforces that contemporary institutions require leadership development offerings for diverse institutions and individuals, recognizing that a multi-sector approach to higher education leadership is incredibly powerful and necessary.

In addition, it recommends that institutions promote internal succession planning and the strategic deployment of human resources.

Since its inception in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program has strengthened institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing nearly 1,900 faculty, staff and administrators for senior positions in college and university leadership through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model. Fellows are nominated from the ranks of faculty, academic affairs leadership, campus or system leadership, and other executive campus positions.

“The storied history of the ACE Fellows Program is embedded in the very fiber of the leadership of higher education today, and this report reinforces the need for strong leadership development in a time of great change,” said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. “I am confident that the Fellows Program will continue to cultivate diverse and talented leaders and remain a vital contributor to expanding the leadership pipeline for our colleges and universities.”

The report affirms the value of the program itself: Over 92 percent of Fellows, mentors and nominators surveyed said they would recommend the program to aspiring senior leaders, and 98 percent of Fellows agreed that that the program prepared them for a senior leadership position.

To see the full report, click here.