The American Council on Education Fellows program, which has been described as "the nation’s premier higher education leadership development program," chose Rutgers-Newark as its case study for 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 (see page 11 of the Fall 2009 Newsletter for the Council of Fellows). Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Steve Diner has described this as "an exciting opportunity for us to significantly raise Rutgers-Newark’s visibility in American higher education and hopefully to get some useful ideas from the work the fellows will do." The group of ACE Fellows was divided into working groups, which were asked to examine the role of diversity and the urban mission in the programs of the different Rutgers-Newark colleges and schools, including the Dana Library.

The inclusion of Dana Library in this prestigious program represents the Chancellor’s indication of the centrality of the library to the academic core of the campus. The Fellows assessed the extent to which we are currently exploiting the campus’ diversity and urban location in teaching, research and service and advancing the mission of the school/college. The Dana Library cohort studied our initiatives, programs, and plans, over the course of the Fall semester and presented their findings and recommendations at their January 2010 winter seminar. The Fellows recommendations for Dana related to university support for the Diversity Research Center, facilities, and increased international involvement.

The ACE Fellows who studied the Dana Library were: Martin Eisenberg, Associate Provost and Dean of New Student Programs, Truman State University; Kathleen Harrington, Permanent Professor Head, Department of English and Fine Arts, United States Air Force Academy; Lawrence T. Potter Jr., Executive Director of Institutional Diversity and Chief Diversity Officer, University of St. Thomas; and Tina Q. Richardson, Program Coordinator, Counseling Psychology Program, Lehigh University.

Related news stories:

• American Council on Education looks to Newark Campus as a learning lab (Rutgers Focus, January 21, 2009)
• Shaping Future Generations of Academic Leadership (Connect, Fall 2009, p. 3)