Our History

In 1978, the New Jersey Planning Committee of ACE-NIP was formed. A state Advisory panel of 24 leaders in higher education was established and all institutions of higher education in the state were surveyed regarding the numbers of women in various levels of faculty and staff positions. Commitment of support from the Presidents and governing boards of all institutions was sought as being essential to actively seek women for policy-making roles. In subsequent years, a vita bank was established to provide a resource of qualified women for job searches and governing boards.

Receptions and dinners with members of the State Advisory Panel were held; a dinner highlighting senior administrative women was an annual event for several years. State conferences involved public leaders as speakers and panelists. Institutional representatives met to share information regarding programs at local levels.

In 1991, a new agenda for women in higher education was adopted at the national and state levels. The agenda reinforces the original purposes of ACE-NIP and adopts goals for broadening the efforts to include correcting inequities in hiring, promotion, tenure, and salary; providing a supportive campus climate for women and their families and institutionalizing support for women’s studies and advocacy for women.

In September 1993, the NJ ACE-NIP Planning Committee met with the then Chancellor of Higher Education Edward Goldberg, who pledged his cooperation and appointed a member of his staff to meet regularly with the Committee. The mission of the New Jersey ACE Network is delineated in Article II of its Constitution and Bylaws as follows:

The New Jersey Chapter Board of Directors is responsible for coordinating efforts designed to further the goals of the national organization, and for implementing an institutional representative structure that fosters intra- and inter- institutional networks that forward national as well as regional goals. Further, the purpose of this Board shall be:

  1. To provide and stimulate leadership among women engaged in teaching and administration in colleges and universities in New Jersey.
  2. To provide a forum for women to learn networking strategies and develop networks across the State of New Jersey.
  3. To improve professional recognition for the contributions of women in higher education.
  4. To encourage women to prepare for and to compete for leadership roles in higher education.
  5. To identify, develop, advance, and support women in higher education.
  6. To cooperate with the actions of the American Council on Education-Office of Women in Higher Education (ACE-OWHE) and to help further that organizations goals.
The end.