Hunter named ACE Fellow at Fredonia

Dr. Jevon Hunter, who serves as chair of Social and Psychological Foundations of Education and Adult Education at SUNY Buffalo State, will serve as an ACE Fellow at SUNY Fredonia in 2021-2022. He is one of 52 emerging higher education leaders across the country named an ACE Fellow for the new academic year.

The ACE Fellows program of the American Council on Education is a customized learning experience that enables educators to immerse themselves in the study and practice of leadership and also experience the culture, policies and decision-making processes of another educational institution. These participants are trained to move into administrative roles.

Dr. Hunter is looking forward to a different campus environment than the one he’s used to at SUNY Buffalo State. He’s interested in learning about the ways in which SUNY Fredonia builds relationships within the community as a community partner.

“I am curious about the bonds students have to the campus, the campus’ efforts in its recruitment, retention and graduation of students, especially Black, indigenous and people of color,” Hunter commented.

Hunter, the Woods-Beal Endowed Chair for Urban Education in the School of Education, indicated his expectations are quite simple: to learn the unique ways in which President Stephen H. Kolison Jr. and his cabinet provide leadership at the university. “One interesting aspect of this is the fact that SUNY Fredonia is clearly situated in a community distinct from that of SUNY Buffalo State,” Hunter said.

Among Hunter’s goals at Fredonia is working alongside President Kolison and his cabinet to determine an issue or concern impacting the campus and leverage his expertise, background and experiences to address the issue or concern as a project.

“The project has yet to be determined, and that is intentional as I wanted to seek President Kolison's insights to make certain that the overall experience is mutually beneficial,” Hunter explained. “Maybe it’s around issues of diversity, maybe it’s around issues in terms of engaging the community, maybe even some student-led initiatives,” he added.

Hunter indicated he is thrilled to be named an ACE Fellow, noting that SUNY Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner was also ACE Fellow, and shared her experiences with him and also wrote a letter of recommendation to ACE. “I was all too excited to know that I would have a unique, yet memorable experience,” Hunter said.

While being an ACE Fellow creates tremendous opportunities, such as meeting with campus leaders, networking with peers and leaders in higher education and learning about the operations of universities in the 21st century, Hunter said he’s more interested in how he might serve Fredonia and its broader community.

“I hope to walk away from this experience with a more robust understanding of what makes SUNY Fredonia unique and special and apply those assets upon my return to SUNY Buffalo State,” Hunter added.

Also of interest to Hunter is learning about university finances and understanding how a newly appointed president of a university starts to assemble his cabinet of leadership.

In addition to being named an ACE Fellow, Hunter also received the Cengage-ACE Inclusion Scholarship, which supports an ACE Fellow who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to addressing educational quality and equity in student access.

Scholarly interests of Hunter include the exploration of learning, literacy education and pedagogy as they impact urban youth, their families and teachers with special emphasis on African-Americans and Latinx populations. “I focus on understanding the ways culture, history and language intersect with learning, literacy, technology and the implications of this work in relation to issues of social justice, diversity, schooling equity, access and excellence,” Hunter said.

Hunter has a Ph.D. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Literacy from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Irvine. He joined SUNY Buffalo State as an assistant professor in the Elementary Education and Reading Department in 2010.

Nearly 2,000 vice presidents, deans, department chairs, faculty and other emerging leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since 1965.