Leaders Gather at ACE2023 to Discuss Higher Education’s Challenges and Successes
April 17, 2023

More than 1,000 higher education leaders from across the country and abroad last week attended ACE2023, ACE’s Annual Meeting that took place April 13-15 in Washington, DC.

The meeting featured a diverse group of speakers at the Women’s Leadership Dinner and other plenaries, including a vitual appearance during the afternoon plenary by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, who talked with ACE President Ted Mitchell about the Biden administration’s higher education policy efforts and how he hopes to see campuses move forward after COVID.

The opening plenary featured Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Laura Helmuth, editor-in-chief of Scientific American, speaking about diversifying the STEM pipeline while also supporting students from all backgrounds.

A range of concurrent sessions throughout the two days examined topics such as the release of the 2023 edition of ACE’s American College President Study and the initiative to reimagine the Carnegie Classifications.

Clint Smith

​​Clint Smith (right) with JMU president Jonathan Alger

Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic and an award-winning author whose works include How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, wrapped up the meeting at the closing plenary in a conversation with James Madison University President Jonathan Alger.

Smith noted during the session it is essential to teach all students about the decades of public policy decisions that created a landscape of inequality.

You can read more below about the ACE awards presented to individuals and institutions at ACE2023. In addition to the ACE awards, Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown University, received the 2023 TIAA Institute Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education at the meeting, and Shirley Ann Jackson, who recently retired as president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was honored with a Dr. John Hope Franklin Award by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Soraya M. Coley, President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Receives the 2023 ACE Donna Shavlik Award at the Women’s Leadership Dinner

The dinner also featured the presentation of the 2023 ACE State Network Leadership award, which went to the ELATES initiative at Drexel University, a national leadership development program designed to promote senior STEM women faculty and faculty allies into effective institutional leadership roles. Boston University’s Mary L. Churchill and Michelle Asha Cooper of Lumina Foundation were the featured speakers at the event.

ACE Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Lawrence S. Bacow

Lawrence S. Bacow, who steps down in June after serving as Harvard’s 29th president since 2018 and as a member of the Harvard Corporation since 2011, also delivered this year’s Atwell Lecture, focusing on immigration and noting that “we limit immigration at our peril. Why? Because immigration furthers our national interest. And because immigration defines our national identity.” Read his full remarks here.

University of California, Riverside Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox Named Winner of 2023 ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award

The Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award is bestowed annually to acknowledge the substantial role of mentors in the success of ACE Fellows Program participants. Kim A. Wilcox, a former Fellow himself, has mentored four Fellows.

Texas Woman’s University and Allan Hancock College Receive ACE/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation

This award was created to recognize institutions that have responded to higher education challenges in innovative and creative ways and achieved dramatic changes in a relatively brief period. It was presented along with a $10,000 prize April 14 at ACE2023.

ACE Honors Central Washington University’s Anderson Parks With 2023 Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award

Named in honor of Reginald Wilson, senior scholar emeritus at ACE and founding director of ACE’s Office of Minority Concerns, the award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions and demonstrated sustained commitment to diversity in higher education.

ACE, Sophia Learning Name Amberlin Dupre and Joel Riley 2022 Students of the Year

Amberlin Dupre, an operations manager at a national nonprofit medical society, and Joel Riley, a Marine Corps veteran and project manager in the finance technology industry, are the 2022 ACE/Sophia Learning Students of the Year. Watch the video below to hear their stories. Both Amberlin and Joel received a $1,000 scholarship to help fund their education.

ACE2023 ​In the News

Ex-Presidents for Academic Freedom
Inside Higher Ed | April 21, 2023

CWU Professor Awarded for Diversity Leadership
Daily Record | April 19, 2023

A Lesson for Colleges on Student Mental Health: Try New Things on a Small Scale
The Chronicle of Higher Education
(sub. req.) | April 17, 2023

Harvard’s Bacow Urges Pushback Against Political Threats
Times Higher Education (sub. req.) | April 17, 2023

Allan Hancock College Wins National Education Award
News Channel 3-12 | April 17, 2023

Cardona Urges Higher Education Leaders to ‘Fight Complacency’ in Year Ahead
NASFAA News | April 17, 2023

Brown President Awarded the 2023 TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | April 17, 2023

Mapping the Legacy of RPI’s First African American Woman Leader
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | April 15, 2023

Higher Ed’s Game of Thrones: ACE Plans to Debut New Carnegie Classification Methodology This Year
Higher Ed Dive | April 14, 2023

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson Lauded at Dr. John Hope Franklin Reception<
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education | April 14, 2023

This Week With NSF Director Panchanathan
NSF News | April 14, 2023

College Presidents Are Still Overwhelmingly White Men
Higher Ed Dive | April 14, 2023