UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Administrator Named American Council on Education Fellow

March 22, 2013

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

March 22, 2013

Dr. Howard Patterson, vice president for administration and government relations at The University of Texas at Tyler, is among the 2013-14 class of the American Council on Education Fellows Program, UT Tyler President Rodney Mabry announced.

Patterson is one of 50 senior-level faculty and administrators in higher education nationwide selected by the ACE to participate in the program, which combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, campus visits and observations to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year.

“I am honored to represent The University of Texas at Tyler as its first ACE Fellow," Patterson said. "This is recognition of the amazing things happening all across the UT Tyler campus. I am fortunate to have worked with Dr. Dale Lunsford, who hired and mentored me prior to becoming president at LeTourneau University, and Dr. Rod Mabry, current president of UT Tyler, for the past five years. Both have given my opportunities and tremendous insight in to the working of a university."

As an ACE Fellow, Patterson will observe and work with a college or university president and other senior officers at a host institution, attending decision-making meetings and focusing on issues of concern. Fellows also conduct projects that will contribute to the institutional capacity of their home campuses. Participants also engage in other leadership and management activities to enhance their knowledge about the challenges and opportunities confronting higher education.

“The 2013-14 class of Fellows is a talented, diverse group,” said Margarita Benítez, interim director of ACE’s Emerging Leaders Group and the ACE Fellows Program. “The ACE Fellows Program will strengthen their leadership skills, expand their networks and prepare them to tackle the wide array of issues facing the higher education community.”

Serving UT Tyler since 2001, Patterson holds degrees from Springfield College in Mass., Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls and the University of North Texas in Denton.

Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is the longest running leadership development program in the United States.

For more information, visit http://www.acenet.edu/.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler offers excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of almost 7,000 high-ability students at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine.