The American Council on Education recently announced that Assistant Vice Provost Andrea Duffy has been named an ACE Fellow for academic year 2024-25. 

She is one of only 26 Fellows selected nationally, following her nomination by President Amy Parsons and a thorough application process.

“I am very excited for Andrea that she has been selected as an ACE Fellow,” said Provost and Executive Vice President Marion Underwood. “This fellowship is a fantastic opportunity for her and a well-deserved recognition by ACE of Andrea’s potential as an academic leader.  We are honored to have her as a valued member of the Provost’s Office, the College of Liberal Arts faculty and our Ram community, and proud of her for earning this prestigious award. We know she will do great things through her fellowship, and we look forward to having her back at CSU to share what she has learned.” 

Duffy joined the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President from the College of Liberal Arts, where she was appointed director of International Studies in 2013 and had served as a special assistant professor since 2010. She served as director from 2013 to 2021, when she accepted a Fellowship in the Office of the President. In her current role as assistant vice provost, she supports several key initiatives, including the Academic Master Plan and the Student Success Initiative. Duffy also holds a faculty appointment in the Department of History and regularly teaches courses in environmental history, Middle Eastern history and Honors.

About the program

Since its inception in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program has strengthened institutions in American higher education by identifying and preparing over 2,500 faculty, staff and administrators for senior positions in college and university leadership through its intensive cohort-based mentorship model. After their fellowship, more than 80% of the Fellows have gone on to serve as chief executive officers, chief academic officers, other cabinet-level positions and deans.

“The ACE Fellows Program, known for its history of success, cultivates skilled and promising leaders, driving the growth of a diverse and talented higher education leadership pipeline,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “Through immersive learning experiences, ACE Fellows acquire fresh perspectives and develop distinctive skills to apply upon their return to their home campuses. I am excited to witness the accomplishments of this class.”

The Fellows program incorporates retreats, interactive and virtual learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution. All of the experiences are condensed into a single year, providing the Fellows with years of on-the-job experience and skills development.

Fresh perspective

During the placement, Fellows observe and work with senior officers at their host institutions, attend decision-making meetings, and focus on issues of interest that will benefit their host and nominating institutions. The year ahead offers many opportunities for ACE Fellows to view leadership in action. Placement institutions will benefit from having an experienced leader who can lend a fresh perspective to emerging or ongoing institutional challenges.

At the conclusion of the fellowship year, Fellows return to their home institutions with new knowledge and skills along with a network of peers across the country and abroad. 

Duffy plans to use her fellowship to identify effective models for supporting interdisciplinary programs and collaborations with the aim of elevating interdisciplinarity at CSU.

“ACE is the opportunity of a lifetime for emerging higher education leaders,” Duffy said. “I am thrilled to have been selected and extremely grateful for all the support, guidance and mentorship that helped me reach this point. CSU is an amazing place, and I look forward to applying my experience over the next year to advance our institution.”

Award-winning author 

Duffy holds a B.A. in Modern European History from Princeton University and a Ph.D. from Georgetown University with specializations in European, Middle Eastern, Ottoman and environmental histories. In addition to other publications, she is author of Nomad’s Land: Pastoralism and French Environmental Policy in the Nineteenth-Century Mediterranean World, winner of the Weyerhaeuser Book Award for best book in forest and conservation history.  She has studied nearly a dozen languages, has lived in France and Turkey, and has visited more than 30 countries across five continents. 

“Dr. Duffy has long been a champion of interdisciplinary collaboration in CLA and across the university, as evidenced by her leadership of international studies and her own teaching and research,” said interim College of Liberal Arts Dean Elissa Braunstein. “She is one of those rare scholar/leaders whose intellectual contributions to our understanding of global environmental histories are fully matched by her creative and capable administrative leadership. I am thrilled that the ACE fellowship will give her some time to pause and learn; I can’t wait to see what’s next!”

For more information and to see the members of the 2024-25 class of Fellows, visit the ACE website. 

About ACE

ACE is a membership organization that mobilizes the higher education community to shape effective public policy and foster innovative, high-quality practice. As the major coordinating body for all of the nation’s higher education institutions, ACE represents more than 1,600 college and university presidents and related associations. For more information, visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on X at @ACEducation.