Professor of Art History Michael Orr was awarded a fellowship by the American Council of Education, ACE, this month. Orr was one of 42 fellows selected by ACE, an organization that spans more than 1,600 colleges and universities nationwide. Orr was nominated by President Jill Beck and Provost David Burrows before being selected by ACE.
The ACE fellows program, first established in 1965, is a “comprehensive leadership development program,” which “condenses years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year,” as stated by the ACE Web site. Most participants in the fellows program go on to later become university officials, with more than one fifth of fellows becoming chief executive officers before their retirement.
“I’m honored to have been named a member of the ACE Fellows,” Orr said. “I am grateful to President Beck and Provost Burrows for their support of my nomination.”
For his one-year fellowship, Orr will be away from campus, visiting at least one host institution. He will have three primary duties: observing and participating in meetings of upper-level university administration, taking on projects under the guidance of senior-administrators and participating in national week-long seminars on leadership, planning, financial management and other topics.
According to ACE, Orr will also enjoy the benefits of a “prestigious network of highly talented and motivated individuals (roughly 1,400) working in senior positions at public and private institutions across the country.”
Orr said that the Lawrence community will feel the benefits of his fellowship, as he plans to look at two issues facing his host institution and how the host institution’s solutions could be applied to Lawrence.
“I hope to look at the challenge of balancing the principles of shared governance with financial planning and the imperative to ensure faculty development are coordinated with institutional practices regarding tenure and promotion,” Orr said.
“I have always believed that Professor Orr has the intelligence, commitment and interest to be an effective academic administrator. We are very proud of [him] and delighted that both he and Lawrence are being recognized through this program,” Burrows said.
Orr is currently the chair of the Art History Department. Born in the United Kingdom, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University College London and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University. He won the Lawrence University Young Teacher’s Award in 1992 and the Freshman Studies Teaching Prize in 2006.
Orr will definitely be missed at home. Said Orr, “I am extremely grateful to my family for being willing to put up with my absence.
Orr wins American Council of Education Fellowship
