KINGSTON, R.I.- September 14, 2018- University of Rhode Island President David M. Dooley will work with Stephen Hegedus as his American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for the 2018 fall semester.
Hegedus is the dean of the School of Education at Southern Connecticut State University, a position he has held for four years. He hopes to use his experience at URI with President Dooley to advance the mission of SCSU as a whole.
“President Dooley and the strong leaders around him have a wealth of wisdom and experience that I look forward to learning from and experiencing as I envision next steps in my career as a university leader,” said Hegedus, a native of England.
“I am happy to welcome Dean Hegedus to the University for a fulfilling, dynamic and enjoyable semester with us,” Dooley said. “He will have access to senior leaders, faculty members, staff and students to learn all he can about how we have transformed URI into a global leader in research and teaching. We are also eager to hear his perspectives on a variety of issues that affect URI and higher education more broadly. At the same time, I expect to learn a great deal from Dean Hegedus and his experiences at Southern Connecticut and in England.”
The ACE Fellow program, a top leadership development program in higher education, is rigorous and competitive and names only 45 fellows each academic year. Candidates must be nominated by the president of their institution and undergo a series of interviews by three teams of university presidents.
Hegedus earned his doctorate in mathematics education from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, where he also received a bachelor of science degree with honors in mathematics and economics. Most recently, he earned a diploma in management and leadership from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.
He will work alongside Dooley and participate in numerous meetings, programs and discussions with other URI administrators, and then return to Southern Connecticut armed with new perspectives and skills to help SCSU develop and improve.
Founded in 1893, Southern Connecticut has more than 6,000 full-time undergraduates, and approximately 1,000 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students who attend classes on a part-time basis. The University has more than 800 full-time graduate students. SCSU awards bachelor’s and master’s degrees in numerous areas of study.
“My main goal is to observe complex decision making by University leaders and learn how best to serve the needs of students in higher education,” said the ACE Fellow.
During his time at URI, Hegedus plans to immerse himself in the campus community.
“In addition to spending time with President Dooley and his leadership team, I plan to attend various sporting and cultural events,” said Hegedus. “I love soccer, basketball, and after almost 20 years in the United States, am still working out the rules to football, but I look forward to watching the Rams in action this fall.”
Hegedus expects to bring lessons in innovative programming and institutional advancement that can help the SCSU School of Education and the institution as a whole.
“Part of leadership is the ability to listen and put others first,” Hegedus said. “I urge students who see me around campus to stop me and introduce themselves. I am interested in their stories, why they chose URI and I want to hear from them on the challenges they face.”
Founded in 1918, ACE fosters greater collaboration and new partnerships within and outside the higher education community. ACE members include more than 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges, universities, and higher education-related associations, organizations, and corporations.
Olivia Ross, an intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at URI and public relations major, wrote this press release.