School of Business & Social Sciences Dean Awarded ACE Fellowship

Colby-Sawyer College Dean for the School of Business & Social Sciences Thomas Kealy, Ph.D., has been named an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year.

As an ACE Fellow, Kealy will spend the spring 2023 semester participating in an immersive, customized learning experience at a yet-to-be-determined institution of higher education under the mentorship of an experienced senior administrator. Kealy said his focus of study will be diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education.

“I will be doing research on institutions that have been innovative in incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion into the whole fabric of their communities,” Kealy said.

Through the fellowship, Kealy said he will design and execute one project for his host institution and a second project for Colby-Sawyer. Upon completion of his fellowship, Kealy will return to New London, N.H., and seek to implement his findings on campus.

Colby-Sawyer College President Susan D. Stuebner nominated Kealy for the prestigious program, which has produced many college and university presidents and provosts since its inception in 1965. Kealy participated in a competitive application process before being named one of the 46 emerging college and university leaders in the 2022-23 class of ACE Fellows.

“The fellowship is highly selective and signals the strength of Tom’s acumen as a faculty member and leader on our campus,” Stuebner said. “He will return with ideas for visionary leadership, innovative approaches to the issues we face and the benefit of a network at another institution, as well as new relationships with a diverse group of fellows. I am thrilled for Dr. Kealy and the opportunity it affords him and the college.”

Kealy joined the Colby-Sawyer faculty in 2000, teaching courses in writing and world literature and later serving as chair of the Department of Humanities. His research focuses on environmental humanities, representations of science and nature in literature and literary cultures of Islamic Spain. Kealy received the college’s Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2003 and the Nancy Beyer Opler Award for Excellence in Advising in 2005 and 2018.

An accomplished academic, Kealy spent a year at Madrid at CSIC’s Centro de Estudios Históricos as a Fulbright Scholar and was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to complete a summer program in Granada, Spain. In addition to his professional achievements, Kealy is also involved in the local community, serving on the board of directors for New Hampshire Humanities and the Lake Sunapee Region Chamber of Commerce.

“When an educational institution creates a comprehensive environment for diversity, equity and inclusion, every single student benefits,” Kealy said. “Each individual student, staff person, and faculty member brings a constellation of history, experiences, perspectives and strengths to the college.”