Joanne Goodell, Ph.D., professor of mathematics education
at Cleveland State University and a 2015-16 American
Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, will spend the
academic year on the Kent Campus.

Kent State University President Beverly Warren has announced that Joanne Goodell, Ph.D., professor of mathematics education at Cleveland State University and a 2015-16 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, will spend the full academic year on the Kent Campus.

“Selection as a host institution is a sign of the outstanding reputation and commitment to excellence at Kent State University,” says Margarita Benítez, interim assistant vice president of ACE’s Emerging Leaders Group and the ACE Fellows Program. “An ACE Fellow chooses an institution for its rigorous academic environment, high-quality efforts to educate students and willingness to invest in the future of higher education senior leadership.”

The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutional capacity and build leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration. Thirty-one fellows, nominated by the presidents or chancellors of their institutions, were selected this year in a national competition. Nearly 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its inception, with more than 300 fellows having served as chief executive officers of colleges and universities, and more than 1,300 having served as provosts, vice presidents or deans.

Goodell joined Cleveland State University as an assistant professor of mathematics education in 1999, was promoted to associate professor in 2005 and to professor in 2012. She served as president of Faculty Senate from 2011 to 2014 and led the implementation of CSUteach, a secondary (grades 7-12) mathematics and science teacher licensure program. Goodell’s research focuses on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines, with 38 grants funded at more than $14 million. Prior to joining Cleveland State University, Goodell served as a research director at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and as a lecturer at Curtin University of Technology and Edith Cowan University in Western Australia.

Each ACE Fellow will focus on an issue of concern to the nominating/sponsoring institution while spending all or part of the next academic year working with a college or university president and other senior officers at a host institution. The ACE Fellows Program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, campus visits and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single semester or year. The fellows are included in the highest level of decision making while participating in administrative activities at their host institutions. Time also is spent learning about a specified issue of benefit to their host institutions for implementation upon the fellows’ return to campus at the conclusion of the fellowship year.

“We are pleased to launch this new class of fellows,” Benítez adds. “The members of the class of 2015-16 are a talented, diverse group eager to strengthen their leadership skills and prepare to tackle a wide array of higher education issues, while at the same time building institutional capacity via participation in the ACE Fellows Program.”

Fellows attend three retreats on higher education issues organized by ACE, read extensively in the field and engage in other activities to advance their knowledge about the current and future challenges and opportunities confronting higher education.

Founded in 1918, the American Council on Education is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy.

For more information about the American Council on Education, visit www.acenet.edu.