GGC associate professor named ACE Fellow(조지아 귀넷 칼리지)GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE
The American Council on Education (ACE) announced Monday that Dr. Rachel Ann Bowser, assistant dean of the School of Liberal Arts, associate professor of English and 2015-2017 GGC Faculty Senate President, has been named an ACE Fellow for the 2017-18 academic year.
“Dr. Bowser has demonstrated a strong commitment to literary education and has inspired a new generation of creative thought leaders. The only person to have served two consecutive years as Faculty Senate President, the ACE program will hone her leadership skills even further and position her for additional contributions upon returning to GGC,” said GGC President Staś Preczewski.
The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American 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. Forty-six Fellows, nominated by the senior administration of their institutions, were selected this year following a rigorous application process.
Nearly 1,900 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades, with more than 80 percent of Fellows having gone on to serve as senior leaders of colleges and universities. The 2017-18 class will kick off its work this fall as ACE prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2018.
"Fulfilling higher education’s 21st century mission depends upon a visionary, bold and diverse global community of institutional leaders, and the ACE Fellows Program plays a key role in cultivating these leaders,” said ACE President Molly Corbett Broad. "The diverse and talented 2017-18 Fellows class demonstrates why the program has made such a vital contribution for more than a half-century to expanding the leadership pipeline for our colleges and universities."
Bowser earned her Ph.D. in English from Emory University and her master’s in English from West Virginia University. She taught composition and literature at both universities as well as at the University of South Carolina Beaufort before joining the faculty of Georgia Gwinnett College.
“During the seven years I have been at GGC, I have learned an enormous amount about myself as both a teacher and mentor. I have also learned what kind of leader I can become and I am excited for the opportunity to explore my potential through the ACE Fellows Program,” says Bowser reflecting on her career. “I look forward to returning to GGC with new ideas about how to serve our students, faculty and staff.”
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. Fellows also conduct projects of pressing concern for their home institution and seek to implement their findings upon completion of the fellowship placement.
At the conclusion of the fellowship year, Fellows return to their home institutions with new knowledge and skills that contribute to capacity-building efforts, along with a network of peers across the country and abroad.
