Election Results Announced for 2022 Board of Trustees Positions

Rutgers University’s Neela Patel was elected to serve as ACUI president-elect beginning in March 2022. Patel, the senior director of student centers and event services at Rutgers, currently serves as an at-large member of ACUI Board of Trustees. She has contributed to ACUI in various ways as a volunteer, including as a course contributor, regional director, and annual conference program team member. 

Three new at-large board members were also selected in voting conducted in November. They are Dwayne Isaacs, director of student life and engagement at the University of South Florida–St. Petersburg; Keith Kowalka, assistant vice president for student affairs at the University of Houston; and Ian Crone, director of the University of Tennessee student union. 

Isaacs has volunteered with ACUI as a regional director and conference chair, and he is currently a member of the Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Earlier this year during ACUI’s 2021 Annual Conference, Kowalka was recognized with ACUI’s highest honor, the Butts-Whiting Award, for his 30 years of work in student affairs and student life. Among his numerous volunteer positions, he currently serves at chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Crone has a long history with ACUI, beginning as a Central Office student intern. Since then, he’s served as a regional director, annual conference program team member, and as a member of the Association’s board of trustees. 

Patel’s term as president-elect is for one-year, followed by one year terms as president and then past president, while Isaacs, Kowalka, and Crone will each serve a two year term. Their terms will begin in March during the 2022 Annual Conference in Chicago. 

On-line voting took place November 2-December 2, with 413 ballots cast, representing a 16% voter turnout, slightly lower than the five-year average of 16.2%. For a complete look at the summary of votes and voters, visit here.