IUPUI hosts American Council on Education Fellow

Brian L. Johnson, assistant provost/assistant vice president for academic affairs at Austin Peay State University, will spend the 2012-13 academic year at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis as part of the American Council on Education Fellows Program.

“Selection as a host institution is a mark of prestige for IUPUI,” said Dr. Sharon A. McDade, director of the ACE Fellows Program. “An ACE Fellow selects an institution for its unique learning opportunities and the quality work it is doing in educating students.”

While at IUPUI, Johnson will be included at the highest level of decision-making, participate in administrative activities and learn about issues of benefit to the campus. He will also attend three weeklong retreats on higher education issues organized by ACE, read extensively in the field and engage in other activities to advance his knowledge about the challenges and opportunities confronting higher education today.

“Brian is the latest of several talented academics with leadership potential who have chosen IUPUI for an ACE fellowship,” IUPUI Chancellor Charles R. Bantz said. “They bring new perspectives to us from their home institution and, in turn, we offer them the opportunity to observe and interact with IUPUI leaders on a campus known for being dynamic, innovative and diverse.”

Before joining Austin Peay State University in 2010, Johnson served in a variety of leadership roles at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., including chief of staff, acting director of the Biddle Institute, chairman of freshman-sophomore programs and associate vice president for academic affairs. Before that, he held leadership and faculty positions at Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., and the University of South Carolina. Johnson earned his Ph.D. in English literature from the University of South Carolina and has published six academic books and one institutional history of his alma mater.

“I’m so pleased to be here,” Johnson said. “I look forward to working with Chancellor Bantz, whose reputation for mentoring is well known amongst ACE Fellows. Additionally, working within the new School of Philanthropy, believed to be the nation’s first, during this exciting transition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutional capacity and build leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration. Of the more than 1,700 participants in the first 47 years of the program, more than 300 have become CEOs and more than 1,100 have become provosts, vice presidents or deans.

About the America Council on Education

Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter at @ACEducation.