Barroso selected for 2026 ACC Academic Leaders Network

A person with short blue and purple hair, wearing a black jacket with white trim over a floral blouse, smiles while posing indoors in front of a blurred window and reddish-brown wall.

Susana Barroso, PhD, RN, has been selected for the UNC-Chapel Hill 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Leaders Network (ACC ALN).

The ACC ALN is coordinated through the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. The program is designed for mid- to senior-career faculty and faculty in administrative leadership roles who are focused on leadership development.

Barroso will participate in three leadership conferences hosted by ACC universities. The program is a multi-institutional initiative formed to network academic leaders, share best practices and benchmarking, and foster collaboration across diverse organizations. Each participating university selects an internal leadership liaison to support leaders and assist with organizational outcomes. The Provost Office sponsors all travel-related expenses for ACC ALN cohort members.

“I am excited to learn from and with my ACC colleagues and further develop and strengthen my leadership skills as we come together to collaboratively discuss and begin to solve the complex issues facing higher education,” Barroso said.

The ACC ALN is hosted by a consortium of ACC universities and provides a targeted leadership development program for experienced leaders. The structure consists of three leadership conferences, each hosted at a different participating university campus. Sessions are designed to build leadership awareness and effectiveness in higher education and facilitate conversations across a range of topics that support leadership growth.

Past participants from the School of Nursing include Ashley Leak Bryant (2025), Meg Zomorodi (2023) and Cheryl Giscombe (2022).