Emerson College Hosts Dr. Lori Beth Way

Boston, MA — 

Emerson College President Lee Pelton announced today that Dr. Lori Beth Way, chair of Educational Policies and Procedures, academic senate and professor of the Political Science Department at California State University, Chico, and one of 56 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows, will spend the 2012-13 academic year on the Emerson campus.

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. Fifty-six Fellows, nominated by the presidents or chancellors of their institutions, were selected this year in a national competition. Of the more than 1,700 participants in the first 47 years of the program, more than 300 have become chief executive officers and more than 1,100 have become provosts, vice presidents, or deans.

“Selection as a host institution is a mark of prestige. ACE Fellows select an institution based on the unique learning opportunities and the quality of work that it is doing in educating students,” explained Dr. Sharon A. McDade, director of the ACE Fellows Program.

Each ACE Fellow will focus on an issue of concern to the nominating institution while spending all or part of the next academic year working with a college or university president and other senior officers at a host institution. The ACE Fellows Program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, campus visits, and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single semester or year. The Fellows are included in the highest level of decision making while participating in administrative activities and learning about an issue of benefit to the institution.

ACE Fellow Dr. Lori Beth Way joined the faculty of California State University, Chico in 1999. As professor in the Department of Political Science, she serves as the advisor to over 200 Criminal Justice majors. She earned her PhD in Political Science and a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies from Syracuse University. Her research areas are primarily policing, the courts, and how race, class, and gender influence the administration of justice. Dr. Way is co-author of Realities and Challenges: Introduction to Criminal Justice. Included in her published work are several publications on the historical changes in and significance of Supreme Court concurrences. She also recently co-authored an article on the degree to which Criminal Justice programs include race and gender courses and has a manuscript forthcoming, from Northeastern University Press, in January 2013 titled “Hunting for Dirtbags: Why Cops Over-Police the Poor & Racial Minorities.”

President Pelton will be one of the primary mentors to Dr. Way during her yearlong fellowship. “We’re honored that Lori Beth selected Emerson College for her fellowship studies, and I’m looking forward to working with her during her time on campus,” he said. “I hope she finds the experience valuable for her career path in higher education, and I welcome the distinctive perspective she brings as an ACE Fellow participant; one that can provide an opportunity for me and my colleagues to gain new insights about our own institution and higher education in general.”

“We are excited to welcome the new class of Fellows,” said Sharon A. McDade, director of the Fellows Program. “The program offers individualized, accelerated learning that advances leadership readiness while building institutional capacity. We are eager to embark on this transformational leadership journey with the members of the class of 2012-13.”

Fellows attend three week-long retreats on higher education issues organized by ACE, read extensively in the field, and engage in other activities to advance their knowledge about the challenges and opportunities confronting higher education today.