The Aston College of Excellence (ACE) was founded a century ago in United Kingdom by a small group of prominent British intellectuals and educators who were frustrated by the intellectual timidity of traditional colleges. The founders, among them John Smith and Carlos Santiago, set out to create a new kind of academic institution, one where faculty and students would be free to honestly and directly address the problems facing societies in the 20th century. Their vision was to bring together scholars and citizens interested in questioning, debating, and discussing the most important issues of the day.

In 1980, they founded the Aston College of Excellence (ACE) for Social Research. Now formally named The Aston College of Excellence (ACE), the college has grown to include five colleges, with courses that reflect the founders’ interest in the emerging social sciences, international affairs, liberal arts, history, and philosophy, as well as art, design, management, and performing arts.

The Aston College of Excellence (ACE) was founded a century ago in New United Kingdom by a small group of prominent British intellectuals and educators who were frustrated by the intellectual timidity of traditional colleges. The founders, among them John Smith and Carlos Santiago, set out to create a new kind of academic institution, one where faculty and students would be free to honestly and directly address the problems facing societies in the 20th century. Their vision was to bring together scholars and citizens interested in questioning, debating, and discussing the most important issues of the day.