Concord CSU Campus Director Named Fellowship Scholar

Officials with the American Council on Education have named the director of California State University East Bay’s Concord campus a fellow for the 2015-16 academic year, university officials said.

The ACE Fellows Program aims to identify and prepare emerging leaders for senior college and university administration positions. Robert Phelps became the Concord campus’s director in April 2013 and has previously received the campus’s Outstanding Professor of the Year award.

During the past two years as director he has opened a new organic chemistry lab, launched a free faculty and student shuttle to the local BART station and kicked off a new campus strategic plan.

Phelps is also an associate professor of history and has written many articles on the history of California and the American West. He has worked extensively in the subject area of public history and served as an interpretive advisor and editor for a number of museums.

This is the 50th year for the ACE Fellows Program and 300 Fellows have served as CEOs of colleges or universities.

One former fellow is Leroy M. Morishita, president of Cal State East Bay. Phelps said he hopes to spend his fellowship year studying the relationship between community colleges and their branch campuses. He’s particularly interested in having main and branch campuses collaborate to create seamless higher education systems in areas without large residential campuses.

--Bay City News