The American Council on Education (ACE) announced recently that Kumer Das, interim associate provost for research and director of the office of undergraduate research at Lamar University, has been named an ACE Fellow for academic year 2018-19.

Das joined LU in 2005 as an assistant professor of mathematics after completing his Ph.D. at Auburn University. He taught as an associate professor from 2011 to 2017, when he became a full professor.

In 2016, he was granted the Robert V. Hogg Award for Excellence in Teaching Introductory Statistics by the Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America (SIGMAA) on Statistics Education. In 2015, he was named University Scholar by the university and he received the Rogers Community Service Award.

Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model. Following nomination by the senior administration of their institutions and a rigorous application process, 45 Fellows were selected this year.

More than 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades, with more than 80 percent of Fellows having gone on to serve as senior leaders of colleges and universities.

“For more than a half-century, the ACE Fellows Program has been a powerful engine fueling the expansion of a talented and diverse higher education leadership pipeline,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell. “We are excited to welcome this new class of Fellows and look forward to each enjoying a transformative experience that will help advance individual leadership readiness while also enriching the capacity of institutions to innovate and thrive.”

The program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, visits to campuses and other higher education-related organizations, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year. During the placement, Fellows observe and work with the president and other senior officers at their host institution, attend decision-making meetings, and focus on issues of interest. Fellows also conduct projects of pressing concern for their home institution and seek to implement their findings upon completion of the fellowship placement.

At the conclusion of the fellowship year, Fellows return to their home institution with new knowledge and skills that contribute to capacity-building efforts, along with a network of peers across the country and abroad.