As a 2017-18 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow, Zsuzsa Balogh, professor and program coordinator in environmental engineering and civil engineering technology at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), will spend the fall semester at Colorado State University.
ACE Fellows program
Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is designed to strengthen institutional and leadership capacity in American higher education by identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration.
The fellows are included in the highest levels of decision-making while participating in administrative activities at their host institutions. Time is also spent investigating a specified issue of benefit to their nominating institutions.
CSU mentors
Working under the mentorship of Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering Dean David McLean and university Provost Rick Miranda, Balogh hopes to gain insight on how CSU manages industry and academic partnerships.
“Students need real-life feedback in the classroom … These partnerships are important so we aren’t creating degrees in a vacuum,” Balogh said.
Along with understanding such partnerships, one of Balogh’s goals is to continue serving her home institution in administrative leadership roles, and to help create a formal graduate school to facilitate MSU’s growing array of master’s programs. She looks forward to working alongside McLean to better understand how the role of a dean functions within college and university settings.
“I want to be involved in as many things as possible while I’m here, and I really appreciate how Dr. McLean is approaching this fellowship. He’s asking me what I’d like to know, who I’d like to meet, and what I’d like to learn, which caters to my curiosity,” Balogh said.
Balogh received her Ph.D. in civil engineering from CSU in 2012, and is eager to return to campus this fall. She joins one of 2,000 higher education leaders to have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades.
