Dr. Thompson named ACE Fellow

Cheryl Thompson, Ph.D., assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs at UNMC, has been named an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for academic year 2014-15.

The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing emerging leaders for senior positions in college and university administration. Thirty-one Fellows, nominated by the senior administration of their institutions, were selected this year following a rigorous application process.

The program combines three retreats on higher education issues organized by ACE, 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. Dr. Thompson will focus on an issue of concern to UNMC while spending the next academic year working with a college or university president and other senior officers at a host institution. (The institution Dr. Thompson will work with has not been finalized.)

“We are very pleased that Dr. Thompson has been selected for this prestigious national fellowship,” said Dele Davies, M.D., vice chancellor of academic affairs. “This program will allow Dr. Thompson to hone her extensive leadership skills to the benefit of UNMC’s staff, faculty and students.”

Dr. Thompson said she is looking forward to the program.

“During the fellowship year I will have the opportunity to explore multiple facets of academic leadership,” she said. “A particular interest is in the development of infrastructure and culture to support data-driven decision making.”