The
ACE Commission on Faith-Based Colleges and Universities was created to increase visibility for the important contributions of religious and faith-based colleges and universities and to foster collaboration between religious and nonreligious institutions on topics such as access, affordability, and completion that benefit the whole of higher education.
To coordinate the efforts on this commission, Ted Mitchell, president of ACE, invited
Shirley V. Hoogstra, then president (now president emerita) of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, and
Clark G. Gilbert, commissioner of the Church Educational System of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to serve as the inaugural chairs. Hoogstra and Gilbert worked closely with ACE to establish the commission. In addition to the chairs, an initial executive committee—composed of presidents from a range of institutions—was formed to help steer the commission’s efforts.