A University of Louisiana at Lafayette physics professor has been selected to participate in a national higher education leadership development program.
The American Council on Education recently announced its 2020-2021 fellows. Among its 38 members is Dr. Natalia Sidorovskaia, professor and head of the Department of Physics at UL Lafayette.
ACE provides guidance on higher education issues and policies to the more than 1,700 colleges and universities it represents. Its fellows program prepares university faculty and administrators for advancement into senior leadership roles.
The program condenses years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single year. It includes retreats, interactive learning opportunities, campus visits and placement at another university. Fellows participate in administrative activities at host institutions.
More than 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program since its creation in 1965. More than 80 percent have gone on to serve as chief executive officers, chief academic officers, deans and in cabinet-level positions, noted Ted Mitchell, the council’s president.
“The ACE Fellows program is unique in its ability to transform the lives and enrich the careers of its participants. After an intensive experience working with accomplished higher education leaders, fellows will return to their home campuses prepared to address the challenges of tomorrow,” Mitchell said.
Sidorovskaia is the Coca-Cola/BORSF Endowed Professor of Physics and is head of the Department of Physics at UL Lafayette. She joined the faculty in 2000.
She directs the multidisciplinary Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center – Gulf Ecological Modeling and Monitoring consortium. Her research interests include ocean acoustics and marine mammal communications.
Sidorovskaia is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a member of Sigma Pi Sigma National Physics Honor Society.
She earned a master’s degree in radiophysics from Nizhny Novgorod State University in Russia. Sidorovskaia also holds a master’s degree in physics and a Ph.D. in engineering and applied science from the University of New Orleans.
Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, and Dr. Jaimie Hebert, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, nominated Sidorovskaia as an ACE fellow.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to learn from the most accomplished university leaders in the nation,” Sidorovskaia said. “The ACE Fellows Program will be of great benefit in advancing my leadership skills at this stage of my career, so I can serve my colleagues and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in more effective and visionary ways.”
Photo caption: Dr. Natalia Sidorovskaia speaks during a 2016 event held in Broussard Hall on campus. (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)