Jackson serves as FAMU’s associate provost for Graduate
Education and dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. Lucas is the
coordinator of public affairs for FAMU’s Office of Communications and serves as
the managing editor of the University’s newsletter.
Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program 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.
“Dr. Jackson and Dr. Lucas are both exemplary
representatives of our motto ‘Excellence With Caring,’” said Robinson. “They
have not only served as leaders on our campus but have also been great
contributors to our community. The inclusion of both of our nominees in this
very selective process attests to the quality of these gentlemen. I am
enthusiastic about their experience as ACE Fellows and how their participation
will help to enhance the university.”
Both Jackson and Lucas are alumni of FAMU as well as the
University’s world-renowned Marching “100” band.
“I am truly honored to have been selected to serve as a
2017-2018 ACE Fellow through such a competitive process,” said Jackson about
his selection. “I would like to publicly thank Interim President Larry Robinson
and Interim Provost Rodner Wright for supporting me in this endeavor and
investing in my future. I look forward
to learning as much as I can about higher education through this process to
help enhance the mission and vision of my alma mater, Florida A&M
University.”
Jackson and Lucas will join the nearly 1,900 higher
education leaders that 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.
“With such an amazing opportunity ahead of me, I look
forward to learning as much as possible from some of America’s most respected
higher education executives,” Lucas said. “The knowledge and experiences I will
gain over the course of the fellowship year will better position me to help
contribute more to FAMU’s rich history of excellence.”
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.”
The ACE Fellowship 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 institution with new knowledge and skills that contribute to capacity-building
efforts, along with a network of peers across the country and abroad.