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Photo: Michael Beschloss, left, and President James H. Mullen Jr. at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education

March 12, 2015 — James H. Mullen Jr., president of Allegheny College and chair of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (ACE), will moderate a discussion with historian Michael Beschloss on Monday, March 16 at the annual meeting of ACE, the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities.

The annual meeting, held March 14-17 in Washington, D.C., will close out Mullen’s tenure as chair of ACE’s board. He will be succeeded by Renu Khator, chancellor of the University of Houston (UH) System and president of UH.

A frequent guest on national news programs, Michael Beschloss serves as presidential historian for NBC News, is a contributor to the PBS NewsHour, and is a contributing columnist for The New York Times.

He is the author of nine best-selling books, including “Kennedy and Roosevelt: The Uneasy Alliance”; “Mayday: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair”; “The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963”; “At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War”; “Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989”; “Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy” (co-authored with Caroline Kennedy); and “Taking Charge,” based on the once-secret White House tapes of Lyndon Johnson.

James Mullen became the 21st president of Allegheny College in 2008. He serves on the Presidents’ Advisory Council of the Bonner Foundation and the Council of Independent Colleges; on the Presidents’ Council of the Council of Independent Colleges and the North Coast Athletic Conference; on the Presidents’ Council and Executive Committee of Project Pericles; on the Executive Committee of the Great Lakes Colleges Association; and on the boards of the American Colleges and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, the Annapolis Group and the Meadville Medical Center.

He is a sought-after lecturer in public policy, where his work focuses on the American presidency, as well as history and political science.

Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy.