Author: Laurie Arnston

Finding Common Ground: Campus Inclusion and Free Speech

Free speech is playing out in new ways on American campuses, which some argue is leading to the corrosion of higher education as a marketplace of ideas. Framed by PEN America’s recent report, And Campus for All: Diversity, Inclusion, and Free Speech at US Universities, Monday’s afternoon session at ACE2017 moderated by ACE’s Lorelle L. Espinosa focused on the dual tension of free expression and inclusion on American campuses.

Deep Economic Development: Partnerships That Are Reshaping Universities and Their Communities

In an ACE2017 panel moderated by ACE’s Louis Soares, presidents Jim Clements (Clemson University) and Gail Mellow (LaGuardia Community College) and Vice President for Economic Development James Woodell (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities) shared insights into the role of higher education in economic development as well as information on partnerships their institutions have undertaken in recent years.

Revamping the Presidential Toolkit Is a Collective Effort

On the final day of ACE2017, Lynn Gangone, vice president for ACE Leadership, Josh Wyner, vice president and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, and higher education author and columnist Jeff Selingo joined me for a conversation about the skills and competencies needed by college and university presidents to successfully lead their institutions in today’s day and age.

Diverse Faculty for Diverse Students: How Two Leaders Are Transforming Their Approach

As a Latino and an equity-minded scholar, I often find myself engaged in conversations and attending conference sessions on topics of diversity with other people of color. This is often the case whether I’m at a scholarly conference or most recently at ACE2017, a conference for senior-level administrators including chancellors, presidents, provosts and chief academic officers and deans.

Connections Between Instructional Quality, Student Outcomes and Institutional Finances

During a packed Sunday morning session at ACE2017, three panelists discussed the critical connections between effective classroom instruction, improved student outcomes and institutional efficiency. The session was part of a collaboration between ACE and Strada Education Network to produce research, white papers, and a quality framework on the topic.

Gail Mellow, President Of LaGuardia Community College, Wins 2017 TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award

Gail O. Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College, is the winner of the 2017 TIAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence, one of the most prestigious awards in academia. Named in honor of Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. (1917-2015), former president of the University of Notre Dame and a world-renowned educator and humanitarian, the award recognizes outstanding leadership on the part of a college or university president or chancellor.

A Global Conversation on Student Success

Leaders of higher education institutions and associations in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States shared notes on plans to increase postsecondary education attainment at an ACE2017 panel session Monday, March 13, sponsored by the Lumina Foundation.

In Higher Education, U.S.-Mexico Relations Are Strong

Findings from a recent ACE study of U.S.-Mexico higher education ties were announced by Arturo Cherbowski Lask, executive director of Santander Universidades and general director of Universia México. At a dinner hosted by ACE president Molly Corbett Broad during ACE2017, ACE’s 99th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC on Saturday, March 12. Cherbowski said the project set out to inventory “ground-level” activity resulting from several high-level initiatives between the two countries.

John Lewis Receives John Hope Franklin Award

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) received the 2017 John Hope Franklin Award Monday evening at a reception hosted by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. The legendary congressman was joined by two other recipients of the 2017 Franklin medal—Wilma J. Roscoe and Samuel L. Myers—who were recognized for their work as “longtime guiding forces” behind the National Association for Equal Opportunity, the umbrella advocacy group for historically black colleges and universities.

Racial Diversity Is More Than Just Demographic Representation

In recent years, students on college and university campuses across the nation have held protests calling for more racially inclusive campus climates. The ACE2017 session “Dialogue and Action: Presidential Leadership on Race,” moderated by William B. Harvey of the American Association for Access, Equity, and Diversity, sought to explore presidential perspectives from three panelists on race relations on campuses and how institutions can improve them.

Freedom of Expression Requires Safe Spaces

“It is completely appropriate that all students have safe spaces in which they can grow and develop their identities.” This statement, by Ralph Hexter of University of California, Davis, was the premise upon which panelists at ACE2017 started their session on freedom of expression and safe spaces.