Articles
HCC leaders named to American Council on Education Fellows
Mar 29, 2022
Two Houston Community College leaders have been named fellows of the American Council on Education for 2022-2023.
Dr. Desmond Lewis, associate vice chancellor for College Readiness, and Dr. Colleen Reilly, dean of the Center of Excellence for Media, Visual and Performing Arts, were selected after a rigorous nomination and application process.
They join 46 other fellows from across the nation in the program that is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in U.S. higher education by identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model.
The ACE Fellows Program was established in 1965. About 2,500 higher education leaders have participated in the program over the past five decades.
“The fellows program embodies our goal of enriching the capacity of agile leaders to problem-solve and innovate, and it fuels the expansion of a talented and diverse higher education leadership pipeline,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell, noting that more than 80 percent of fellows have gone on to serve as senior leaders of colleges and universities.
Fellows attend retreats, enjoy interactive learning opportunities, and visit higher education-related organizations and campuses. They are also placed at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year as they work with presidents and other senior officers at the host institutions. Participants also attend decision-making meetings and focus on issues of interest, and later complete projects of pressing concern for their home institutions.
“I am looking forward to working with my colleagues from across the nation and gaining knowledge of methods colleges can employ to address the pressing issues ahead,” said Dr. Lewis. “I am honored and humbled to be able to take part.”
Dr. Reilly echoed Dr. Lewis, expressing gratitude for her nomination and selection. She added that she hopes to use the fellowship to continue to research “how the higher education landscape is changing post-COVID while uncovering ideas we all can use within HCC’s One College philosophy to drive student success.”