NEW LONDON, CT – July 26, 2021– Mitchell College recently welcomed Dr. Hilton Kelly as ACE Fellow for the 2021-2022 academic year. The ACE (American Council on Education) Fellows Program pairs higher education emerging leaders with host institutions to enhance the knowledge and skills of the placed leaders and provide fresh perspectives and expertise to the host institutions. Kelly will be working directly with Dr. Tracy Y. Espy, Mitchell College president, during this full-year fellowship experience on various projects and initiatives. More than 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the program since 1965, with 50 different institutions part of this year’s class.

Kelly is Professor of Educational Studies and Africana Studies and Chair of the Educational Studies Department at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology and M.S. in labor studies from University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a B.A. in history from University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Areas of expertise include sociology of education, the Age of Jim Crow, the lives, work, and careers of African-American educators, and social memory studies. He is the author of the book Race, Remembering, and Jim Crow’s Teachers.

Espy said, “We are honored to have Dr. Kelly here at Mitchell College for this fellowship, and look forward to collaborating on numerous projects, focusing on strategy, culture and policy, and to the amazing contributions he will make to the academic enterprise. The ACE Fellows Program is a wonderful opportunity to build community among higher education institutions, sharing best practices and helping further develop talented leaders.”

Kelly said, “It is so exciting for me to be at Mitchell College in New London. I am here at a peak time for learning about leadership as we are still grappling with a global pandemic. I am honored to work with and learn from Dr. Tracy Espy. She has a solid reputation as an innovative servant leader and a proven change agent in higher education. I look forward to meeting students, faculty, and staff throughout the summer and when everyone returns in late August.”