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The American Council on Education (ACE) announced recently that Freeman A. Hrabowski III will serve as an ACE Centennial Fellow after he retires from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) this summer. His appointment begins on Aug. 1.
Dr. Hrabowski, the 2013 Black Engineer of the Year, is renowned for three decades of visionary leadership that transformed the lives of tens of thousands of students and turned UMBC into a research powerhouse and exemplar of inclusive excellence.
UMBC recently established the Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, Endowment for Student Excellence, a signature program that will increase access and affordability for undergraduate students with financial needs and commitment to community service.
In keeping with his accomplishments at UMBC, Hrabowski’s emphasis as the inaugural ACE Centennial Fellow will be on how colleges and universities can ensure that all types of learners, from first-generation students to adults looking to restart a career, are able to access higher education and earn a degree.
Hrabowski’s portfolio during his two-year tenure will be as wide as he wants to make it, said ACE President Ted Mitchell, in a statement.
“There is no better-equipped person in American higher education than Freeman Hrabowski to find new and better ways for ACE and all of our institutions to best serve our students and the nation,” Mitchell said. “While he is an ACE Centennial Fellow, his work here will not involve an assignment to advance the interests of ACE specifically. Rather, we have invited him to promote the interests and needs of the entire higher education community and our students, especially those learners who are often forgotten or neglected.”
“This is an amazing opportunity to continue focusing on student success and culture change. I am looking forward to working closely with Ted Mitchell, other ACE colleagues, and educators from across the country as part of this effort to create and sustain nurturing academic environments on our campuses,” said Hrabowski.
“ACE’s vision is for a vibrant democratic society that relies on postsecondary education to expand knowledge, equity, and social progress, and our mission is to help accomplish that by mobilizing the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice,” said ACE Senior Vice President Derrick Anderson, who leads the Council’s Education Futures division. “Freeman is the right person at the right time to help ACE and the entire field look at where we need to be not just around the corner but years and generations down the road.
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