Bronwyn Fees, a faculty member and administrator at Kansas State University, is serving as an ACE Fellow at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln during the spring semester.
Fees is working directly with Chancellor Ronnie Green and the university’s administrative leadership team. She is a professor in applied human sciences and an associate dean for academic affairs in Kansas State’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
Fees said the fellowship is an immersive opportunity to study leadership in higher education by working directly with administrative leaders.
“Working with Chancellor Green and members of the administration is truly a unique experience to observe and understand decision-making processes within context, shared governance with faculty, and strategies to support student and program success,” Fees said. “Each land-grant institution is responsive to the needs of its citizens and environment within the state. I look forward to understanding this relationship within Nebraska.”
At Kansas State, Fees is focused on helping lead academic affairs, distance education initiatives, faculty engagement, as well as strategic planning and reporting. She is a member of the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities’ Board on Human Sciences, and past chair of the human sciences board of Great Plains IDEA and the executive board of the Council of Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Fees is one of 52 emerging higher education leaders in the 2021-22 ACE Fellows cohort.
Launched in 1965, the American Council on Education’s fellows program is the longest-running leadership program in the United States. More than 2,000 faculty, staff and administrators have participated in the nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship program.
“ACE Fellows gain career-enriching experience in leadership, innovation, and problem-solving,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “These are just the kind of skillsets that will be absolutely essential for moving higher education forward during difficult times.”
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.
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.
Learn more about the ACE Fellows program.
