ACE has selected 33 emerging college and university leaders for the 2016-17 Class of the ACE Fellows Program, the longest running leadership development program in the United States.
Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is designed to
strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by
identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in
college and university administration. Nearly 2,000 higher education
leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its
inception, with more than 80 percent of Fellows having served as chief
executive officers of colleges or universities, provosts, vice
presidents and deans.
"The ACE Fellows Program cultivates leaders prepared to meet the
constantly evolving challenges of today’s higher education landscape,”
said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. "The diverse and talented
2016-17 Fellows Class demonstrates why the Program has been such a vital
contributor for more than a half-century to expanding the leadership
pipeline for our colleges and universities."
The 2016-17 Fellows Class represents the diversity of America’s
higher education institutions by gender, race/ethnicity, institution
type and disciplinary background. More than half the members of the
2016-17 Fellows are women and 42 percent are of minority descent.
Seven members of the class are partially sponsored by Council of
Fellows Fund for the Future grants. This financial support from the ACE
Fellows alumni organization provides stipends to defray costs for
institutions unable to afford the cost of sponsoring a Fellow.
"The intensive and customized learning experience of the ACE Fellows
Program will enable these future higher education leaders to immerse
themselves in the culture, policies and decision-making processes of
another institution and gain the insights and skills that will position
them to make valuable contributions in the years ahead to their home
institutions and the entire higher education community," said Lynn M.
Gangone, vice president, ACE Leadership.
Click here to see the members of the 2016-17 Class of Fellows.
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.
ACE also recently announced that Sherri Lind Hughes, a 2002-2003
Fellow, will join ACE as the director of the Emerging Leaders Group,
where she will have direct oversight of the Fellows Program and ACE’s
Leadership Academy for Department Chairs. Currently provost of Marymount
University (VA), Hughes will begin at ACE on June 1.