ACE awarded Joan Gabel, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), with the 2026
ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award today at the ACE Council of Fellows Gathering, part of the ACE Experience 2026.
The Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award is bestowed annually to acknowledge the critical role of mentors in the success of ACE Fellows Program participants. Gabel has mentored multiple ACE Fellows and has been widely recognized by Fellows and colleagues alike for her mentorship of higher education leaders across her distinguished career.
Joan Gabel, chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh.
Since its inception in 1965, the
ACE Fellows Program has strengthened institutions and leadership in American postsecondary education by identifying and preparing more than 2,500 faculty and administrators for senior positions in higher education leadership. More than 80 percent of Fellows have gone on to serve as chief executive officers, provosts, vice presidents, and deans of colleges or universities.
“At the heart of the ACE Fellows Program is mentorship, and Chancellor Gabel embodies that commitment in every sense,” said Gailda Davis, executive director, ACE Connect. “Her mentorship has shaped the careers of Fellows across institutions and roles, reflecting her deep belief in developing leaders who are prepared to navigate complexity and lead with integrity.”
Gabel has mentored four Fellows: Nukhet Sandal, associate dean and interim associate vice president, Ohio University; Rebecca Ropers, executive vice chancellor and provost, University of Minnesota-Duluth; Carol Hood, senior associate dean, College of Natural Sciences, California State University, San Bernardino; and Lisa Di Bartolomeo, Singer-Hill professor emerita of humanities, West Virginia University.
Nukhet Sandal (center), accepting the Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award on behalf of Joan Gabel, with Sarah Pfatteicher, executive director, Five Colleges, Inc., and Patrick Vaughan, senior vice president, managing director, and higher education practice leader, Fidelity Investments.
“For more than six decades, the ACE Fellows Program has been a cornerstone of leadership development in higher education,” said Gabel. “It is a true multiplier, elevating rising leaders and strengthening institutions across the country. I am grateful for this recognition, but even more, I am humbled to play a small part in what the Fellows Program is and in how its participants continue to build together.”
Gabel has served as chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh since 2023, where she leads a community of more than 35,000 students and nearly 16,000 faculty, researchers, and staff across five campuses and oversees an annual operating budget exceeding $3 billion. She has guided Pitt through a comprehensive, metrics-driven strategic plan that has delivered record results from undergraduate enrollment and placement rates, to research expenditures and invention disclosures, while elevating the University’s reputation with designations such as a “New Ivy” and Best-In-State Employer.
Prior to joining Pitt, Gabel served as president of the University of Minnesota System and Twin Cities campus, where she launched the system’s first strategic plan, sparking record philanthropic investment and advancing leading health sciences education while strengthening the regional agro-food economy. She previously held leadership roles at the University of South Carolina and University of Missouri and held faculty appointments at Georgia State University and Florida State University, where she also served as a department chair.
Gabel currently holds leadership roles with the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board (CIES), and serves on the boards of UPMC, the Association of American Universities, and the Pittsburgh Symphony. A sought-after national and international speaker, she advises leaders in industry and government on leadership, risk management, insurance, and governance.
“Chancellor Gabel represents the best of higher education leadership,” said Sangeeta Moorjani, head of tax-exempt market at Fidelity Investments. “Her commitment to developing future leaders, combined with her remarkable record of strengthening institutions, makes her an exceptional recipient of this award. Fidelity is proud to recognize a mentor whose guidance has shaped careers and inspired innovation for campuses and communities.”
Since 2008, Fidelity Investments has been a generous supporter of the ACE Fellows Program, empowering the Council of Fellows to provide support for the discretionary fund of the Mentor Award winner’s institution, as well as the Fellows Fund for the Future, which provides stipends to help cover costs of sponsoring a Fellow for qualified institutions.
Gabel announced that as part of her ongoing support of the University of Pittsburgh staff community, she will direct the ACE Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award’s financial support to Pitt’s Employee Emergency Fund, which helps eligible employees facing immediate and significant financial needs.