ACPA Past Presidents
In 1924, May L. Cheney became the first president of the National Association of Appointment Secretaries, which would become the American College Personnel Association in 1931. For decades to come, our presidents would appreciate the precedent that the founding women of ACPA set, not only in their leadership, but in their original mission dedicated to research, community, and service. As each ACPA presidency is unique in an ever-changing society, one thing has always been constant: their passion for student affairs and their commitment to boldly transforming higher education. Read about our past presidents below.
Danielle Morgan Acosta (2021-2022)
Danielle morgan acosta2021-2022 EIGHTy-second ACPA President Relevant Documents & Resources [VIDEO] ACPA/ASHE 2021 Presidential Symposium, 1 October 2021 [VIDEO] Message from Danielle Morgan Acosta, End of 2020-2021 Semester/Term [VIDEO] Danielle Morgan...
Vernon A. Wall (2020-2021)
Vernon A. Wall2020-2021 eighty-first ACPA President Relevant Resources [VIDEO] ACPA21 Opening Remarks from Vernon A. Wall [VIDEO] Vernon A. Wall's Presidential Address at ACPA20 [VIDEO] Black Lives Matter [VIDEO] #ACPA14 Pecha Kucha: Vernon Wall, "Social Justice...
Craig Elliott (2019-2020)
craig elliott2019-2020 eightieth ACPA President Dr. Craig Elliott served as the eightieth president (2019-2020) of ACPA-College Student Educators International. His goals during his presidency were centered around unity, empathy, and social justice. Born in...
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington (2018-2019)
Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington2018-2019 SEVENTY-NINTH ACPA President Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington entered the field of Higher Education and Student Affairs thanks to strong involvement and mentorship as an undergraduate student at Slippery Rock State College. He found...
Stephen John Quaye (2017-2018)
Stephen John Quaye2017-2018 SEVENTY-EIGHTH ACPA President Dr. Stephen John Quaye was first introduced to the student affairs profession while an undergraduate student at James Madison University. Quaye served as a resident advisor and later transitioned into a...
Donna A. Lee (2016-2017)
Donna a. lee2016-2017 SEVENTY-SEVENTH ACPA PresidentRelevant Documents & Resources
Gavin Henning (2015-2016)
Gavin Henning2015-2016 SEVENTY-SIXTH ACPA President Dr. Gavin Henning’s journey into the student affairs profession occurred by a happen-chance encounter. While a first-year student at Michigan State University, Henning was asked at a Friday night movie if he...
Kent Porterfield (2014-2015)
kent porterfield2014-2015 SEVENTY-FIFTH ACPA President Like so many in student affairs, Dr. Kent Porterfield began his journey into the field as an undergraduate student. After heavy involvement with campus life as an undergraduate at Northwest Missouri State...
Kathleen G. Kerr (2013-2014)
Kathleen G. Kerr (2013-2014) Seventy-Fourth Dr. Kathleen Kerr 2013-2014 ACPA President Dr. Kathleen G. Kerr is the Associate Vice President of Student Life at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, where she has a secondary appointment as an Assistant...
Keith Humphrey (2012-2013)
Keith Humphrey (2012-2013) Seventy-Third President Keith Humphrey, Ph.D. 2012-2013 ACPA President Dr. Keith Humphrey's journey into the profession first started as an abrupt “no.” During Humphrey's undergraduate experience at the College of William and Mary, he...
Heidi Levine (2011-2012)
Heidi Levine2011-2012 Seventy-Second President Dr. Heidi Levine (she/her/hers) is currently the Vice President of Student Development & Planning at Simpson College (Iowa); she previously served as Dean of Students at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa while...
Susan Salvador (2010-2011)
Susan Salvador (2010-2011) SEVENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT “I believe that ACPA has always had that strong sense of spirit - one that’s connected to positivity, growth, inclusion, transparency.” Dr. Susan Salvador served as ACPA’s seventy-first president from 2010-2011....
Tom Jackson, Jr. (2009-2010)
Tom Jackson, Jr. (2009-2010) Seventieth President Tom Jackson, Jr. assumed his presidency of ACPA while the Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Louisville. He first joined ACPA in 1988 so he could attend the Miami Convention. Jackson joined...
Patricia A. Perillo (2008-2009)
Patricia A. Perillo (2008-2009) Sixty-Ninth President Patricia (Patty) Perillo assumed her ACPA presidency and became Associate Dean of Students at Davidson College at about the same time in 2008. Perillo became involved with ACPA through Commission XVIII, now...
Vasti Torres (2007-2008)
Vasti Torres (2007-2008) Sixty-Eighth President Vasti Torres assumed leadership as the 68th ACPA President while she was an Associate Professor at Indiana University, Bloomington. Torres first became involved in ACPA through the faculty in her master’s program...
Jeanne S. Steffes (2006-2007)
Jeanne S. Steffes2006-2007 SIXTY-seventh ACPA President Jeanne Steffes was serving as the Director of Beyond the Classroom in Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park when she was elected to her first term as ACPA president. Steffes...
Gregory S. Blimling (2005-2006)
Gregory S. Blimling (2005-2006) Sixty-Sixth President As the new Vice President for Student Affairs at Rutgers University, Greg Blimling assumed the ACPA presidency in the midst of change. Blimling first joined ACPA in 1974 and has participated in every...
Jeanne S. Steffes (2004-2005)
Jeanne s. steffes 2004-2005 & 2006-2007SIXTY-FFIFTH & sixty-seventh ACPA President Jeanne Steffes was serving as the Director of Beyond the Classroom in Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park when she was elected to her first term as...
Myra F. Morgan (2003-2004)
Myra F. Morgan2003-2004 SIXTY-FOURTH ACPA President Ms. Myra F. Morgan was born in Dublin, Ireland, but grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. Morgan graduated from Indiana University. She was fortunate enough in graduate school to have both Dr. Bob Shaffer and Dr....
Paul Shang (2002-2003)
Paul Shang (2002-2003) Sixty-Third President As the sixty-third president of ACPA, Paul Shang was the Director of the HELP/Success Center at Colorado State University. He was encouraged to attend his first convention by Laura Macagno-Shang, Celerstine Johnson,...
Nancy Evans (2001-2002)
Nancy Evans (2001-2002) Sixty-Second President While a professor at Iowa State University, Nancy Evans was elected the sixty-second president of ACPA. She first learned about ACPA from her doctoral advisor, Dick Caple, and became involved through his mentorship....
Jill E. Carnaghi (2000-2001)
Jill E. Carnaghi2000-2001 SIXTY-FIRST ACPA President When Jill Carnaghi was elected ACPA President, she was serving as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students/Director of Campus Life at Washington University in St. Louis. Carnaghi became involved with ACPA...
Gregory Roberts (1999-2000)
Gregory Roberts (1999-2000) Sixtieth President Gregory Roberts was elected ACPA president when he served as the vice president for student affairs at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. His involvement in ACPA began through the Commission III, now the...
Jean Paratore (1998-1999)
Jean Paratore (1998-1999) Fifty-ninth President Jean Paratore was the associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) when she was elected to be the fifty-ninth president of ACPA. Early in her...
Lynn H. Willett (1997-1998)
Lynn H. Willett (1997-1998) Fifty-Eighth President Lynn Willett was elected the fifty-eighth president of ACPA in 1996 while serving as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts. Willett’s involvement with ACPA began in...
Paul M. Oliaro (1996-1997)
Paul M. Oliaro (1996-1997) Fifty-Seventh President Paul Oliaro served as ACPA president while also working as the Vice President for Student Affairs at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Oliaro’s early involvement with ACPA came through Commission III, now...
Harold E. Cheatham (1995-1996)
Harold E. Cheatham1995-1996 FIFTY-SIXTH ACPA President The election of Harold E. Cheatham as the fifty-sixth president of ACPA, made him the first African American male to be so honored. He joined the Association in 1970 when, as a doctoral student and graduate...
Barbara Anderson (1994-1995)
Barbara Anderson (1994-1995) Fifty-Fifth President Barbara Anderson initially became involved with ACPA through Georgia College Personnel Association (GCPA). She moved from primary and secondary education to the college level in 1980 as Director of Counseling....
Charles C. Schroeder (1993-1994)
Charles C. Schroeder (1993-1994) Fifty-Fourth President Charles C. Schroeder initially became involved in ACPA in 1973 when he was asked to serve as Chair and Program Chair of the 1975 ACPA Convention in Atlanta, GA. He also became a member and eventual leader...
Terry E. Williams (1992-1993)
Terry E. Williams (1992-1993) Fifty-Third President Raised and educated in small farming communities in Indiana and Illinois, Terry Williams began his formal post-secondary education at Illinois State University where he graduated with a degree in Business...
Leila V. Moore (1991-1992)
Leila V. Moore (1991-1992) Fifty-Second President Leila V. Moore became a member of APGA/ACPA in 1964 while working at Syracuse University. Her earliest involvements were through the New York State Personnel and Guidance Association, where she did some...
Laurine Elisabeth Fitzgerald (1990-1991)
Laurine Elisabeth Fitzgerald (1990-1991) Fifty-First President ACPA's 51st chief executiImage of Laurine Fitzgeraldve, Laurine E. (Betty) Fitzgerald, was elected the association's highest office in 1989. She was the 19th woman among the volunteer leaders. Her...
Robert D. Brown (1989-1990)
Robert D. Brown (1989-1990) Fiftieth President Robert D. Brown was the 50th President of ACPA. Balloting results were announced at the Business meeting on March 22, 1988 during the national convention in Miami and in the June issue of ACPA Developments. At...
Patricia Ann Kearney (1988-1989)
Patricia Ann Kearney (1988-1989) Forty-Ninth President Among the ACPA list of honored professionals elected president was Patricia Ann Kearney, the 49th and 18th woman to serve at the highest level of leadership available to members. She was recognized the...
Marvalene Hughes (1987-1988)
Marvalene Hughes (1987-1988) Forty-Eighth President ACPA's 48th president, Marvalene Hughes, was the 17th woman and the third African American elected chief executive. Results of balloting were announced at Executive Council and Business meetings during the 1987...
Charles C. Schroeder (1986-1987)
Charles C. Schroeder (1986-1987) Forty-Seventh President In the 1985 ACPA membership vote for president-elect, Charles C. Schroeder won. He was the 31st man among the first 47 presidents to serve in the association's highest office and 39 years old when...
Dennis C. Roberts (1985-1986)
Dennis C. Roberts (1985-1986) Forty-Sixth President ACPA's 46th chief executive was Dennis C. Roberts the 30th man to serve in the role of president. The 1984 election results were reported at the national convention in Baltimore that year and in the...
William A. Bryan (1984-1985)
William A. Bryan (1984-1985) Forty-Fifth President William A. (Bill) Bryan was listed on the slate of nominations for president-elect at the 1982 mid-year meeting of the Executive Council at the Alverna Retreat Center near Indianapolis, Indiana. The selection...
Margaret J. Barr (1983-1984)
Margaret J. Barr (1983-1984) Forty-Fourth President The election of Margaret J. (Peggy) Barr as the 44th ACPA president was announced during the Executive Council meeting on March 16, 1982 and the Business meeting two days later at the joint national APGA/ACPA...
Susan Komives (1982-1983)
Susan Komives (1982-1983) Forty-Third President ACPA's 43rd president, Susan Richardson (Bowling) Komives, was the 15th woman to serve higher education's largest student development organization. When notified of her election in February 1981, she was Vice...
David T. Borland (1981-1982)
David T. Borland (1981-1982) Forty-Second President ACPA's 42nd president, David T. Borland, was the 28th man elected to that office. He was Associate Professor of Higher Education in the Division of Administration and Administrative Studies at North Texas State...
Cynthia S. Johnson (1980-1981)
Cynthia S. Johnson (1980-1981) Forty-First President ACPA's 41st president and 14th woman to lead the association was Cynthia Senn Johnson. At the 1979 convention in Los Angeles, a short distance up the coast from her home in Laguna Beach, the election results...
Phyllis L. Mable (1979-1980)
Phyllis L. Mable (1979-1980) Fortieth President ACPA's 40th president, Phyllis L. Mable, was the 13th woman to preside in that high office. The "adventurous journey" occurred for her during the association's 55th year which closed the 70s decade and began the...
Don G. Creamer (1978-1979)
Don G. Creamer (1978-1979) Thirty-Ninth President The 27th man among ACPA's first 39 chief executives was Don G. Creamer. His election was announced at the national ACPA convention In Denver during the Sunday morning, March 27, 1977 Executive Council meeting and...
Mary T. Howard (1977-1978)
Mary T. Howard (1977-1978) Thirty-Eighth President ACPA's 38th president was Mary Tatum Howard, the 12th woman and second Black elected to serve as chief officer. At the ACPA Executive Council meeting on April 9, 1976 in Chicago's Pick Congress Hotel during the...
Anne S. Pruitt (1976-1977)
Anne S. Pruitt (1976-1977) Thirty-Seventh President ACPA's 37th president, Anne S. Pruitt, joined ACPA in 1950. She was the 11th woman and the first African American to serve in that office. The announcement of Pruitt's election was reported at the first...
Theodore K. Miller (1975-1976)
Theodore K. Miller1975-1976 THIRTY-SIXTH ACPA President ACPA’s 36th president, Theodore (Ted) K. Miller, was the 26th man to serve in that office. He was 42 years old when voted president-elect in 1974. Ted was introduced at the Executive Council meeting on...
W. Harold Grant (1974-1975)
W. Harold Grant (1974-1975) Thirty-Fifth President W. Harold Grant was the 25th man to hold the presidential title of ACPA. At the mid-year Executive council meeting in Cleveland on Thursday evening, October 5, 1972, his name was announced as one of the nominees...
Merril C. Beyerl (1973-1974)
Merril C. Beyerl (1973-1974) Thirty-Fourth President Merril C. Beyerl's election to ACPA's highest office early in 1972 marked the twenty-fourth time that a man was selected. The announcement of Beyerl's nomination as one of two presidential candidates was made...
G. Robert Ross (1972-1973)
G. Robert Ross (1972-1973) Thirty-Third President G. Robert Ross was the twenty-third man elected to the presidency of ACPA. His election as president-elect was reported at the 1971 ACPA convention in Atlantic City during the Executive Council meeting on...
William R. Butler (1971-1972)
William R. Butler (1971-1972) Thirty-Second President William R. Butler was the twenty-second man to serve ACPA as president. A native of Robinson, Illinois, Bill Butler was at the time of his election Vice President for Student Affairs and Professor of...
Paul A. Bloland (1970-1971)
Paul A. Bloland (1970-1971) Thirty-First President The ACPA membership voted Paul A. Bloland president-elect in 1969. The announcement of his election was made at the Executive Council meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday morning, March 29 in North 9 of the Sahara...
Charles L. Lewis (1969-1970)
Charles L. Lewis (1969-1970) Thirtieth President The 1968 ACPA president-elect was Charles L. Lewis. He was the twentieth man to serve as ACPA president. The official announcements of his election at the Dallas convention were made at the ACPA Executive Council...
Donald P. Hoyt (1968-1969)
Donald P. Hoyt (1968-1969) Twenty-Ninth President Donald P. Hoyt became president-elect at the 1967 annual meeting in Dallas. At that time, he was Coordinator of Research Services for the American College Testing Program and Professor of Education at the...
Elizabeth A. Greenleaf (1967-1968)
Elizabeth A. Greenleaf (1967-1968) Twenty-Eighth President Elizabeth A. Greenleaf was the tenth woman elected president of ACPA. She was present at the Saturday afternoon, April 2, 1966 ACPA Executive Council meeting in the Washington Hilton Hotel, when the...
Bernard R. Black (1966-1967)
Bernard R. Black (1966-1967) Twenty-Seventh President The eighteenth man elected to the presidency of ACPA was Bernard R. Black. The announcement of his election as president-elect was made at the annual ACPA Luncheon on Monday, April 12, 1965 at the Minneapolis...
Ralph F. Berdie (1965-1966)
Ralph F. Berdie (1965-1966) Twenty-Sixth President The seventeenth man elected to the presidency of ACPA was Ralph F. Berdie. He was announced as president-elect at the ACPA luncheon on Monday, March 23, 1964 in the Peacock Court of Hotel Mark Hopkins in San...
Barbara A. Kirk (1964-1965)
Barbara A. Kirk (1964-1965) Twenty-Fifth President Barbara A. Kirk was the ninth woman to serve as ACPA president. The Nominations and Election Committee report distributed to approximately 500 people who attended the ACPA Luncheon at the Boston convention on...
Dennis L. Trueblood (1963-1964)
Dennis L. Trueblood (1963-1964) Twenty-Fourth President In the election of 1962, Dennis L. Trueblood became the sixteenth man to attain ACPA's highest office. Trueblood was present at the ACPA Executive Council meeting on Saturday evening, April 14, 1962, in...
Melvene D. Hardee (1962-1963)
Melvene D. Hardee (1962-1963) Twenty-Third President Melvene Draheim Hardee was the eighth woman to become president of ACPA. The announcement of her election as president-elect was made on Sunday morning, April 26, 1961 by the Nomination Committee chair at the...
William G. Craig (1961-1962)
William G. Craig (1961-1962) twenty-second President William G. Craig was the fifteenth man to serve as ACPA president. His election as president-elect in 1960 was announced at the annual Luncheon meeting on Monday, April 11, in Philadelphia. He was Dean of...
Kathryn L. Hopwood (1960-1961)
Kathryn L. Hopwood (1960-1961) Twenty-First President Kathryn Louise Hopwood, the seventh woman to serve ACPA as president, became president-elect as a result of the 1959 elections. At Cleveland, the announcement of her election by the chairman of the ACPA...
Robert Callis (1959-1960)
Robert Callis (1959-1960) Twentieth President Robert Callis became president of ACPA in 1958. He was the fourteenth male to serve as president. The announcement of his election was made at the first Executive Council meeting Sunday evening, March 30, 1958 and...
Catherine M. Northrup (1958-1959)
Catherine M. Northrup (1958-1959) Nineteenth President Catherine M. Northrup was the sixth woman president of ACPA. She was elected president-elect in 1957, near the completion of a two-year term as secretary-treasurer. She was Associate Dean of Students for...
Robert B. Kamm (1957-1958)
Robert B. Kamm (1957-1958) Eighteenth President Robert B. Kamm became president-elect of ACPA early in 1956. He was the thirteenth man elected to ACPA's highest office. When elected, he was Dean, Basic Division and Student Personnel Services, Texas A & M....
Willard W. Blaesser (1956-1957)
Willard W. Blaesser (1956-1957) Seventeenth President Willard W. Blaesser was the twelfth man to become president of ACPA. He served his one-year term as president during 1956-57, after he was in office as president-elect for a year. At the time of the election...
Harold B. Pepinsky (1955-1956)
Harold B. Pepinsky1955-1956 SIXTEENTH ACPA President Harold B. Pepinsky, the eleventh man to become president of ACPA, was the first ACPA president to serve the prior year as president-elect. He assumed the presidency for a one-year term at the close of the 1955...
Gordon V. Anderson (1953-1955)
Gordon V. Anderson (1953-1955) Fifteenth President Gordon V. Anderson was elected president of ACPA for a two-year term in 1953, before the annual convention that year. His term of office began officially on July 1. At the time of his election, he was serving...
Everett H. Hopkins (1950-1953)
Everett H. Hopkins (1950-1953) Fourteenth President Everett H. Hopkins was serving his second one-year term as ACPA vice-president, when Thelma Mills resigned in 1950. According to the constitution, the vice-president was authorized to fill the vacancy and serve...
Thelma Mills (1949-1950)
Thelma Mills (1949-1950) Thirteenth President Thelma Mills was the ACPA presidential winner in the 1949 elections for a two-year term. She was the fourth woman to be elected president. The announcement of her elevation to ACPA's highest office was made at the...
C. Gilbert Wrenn (1947-1949)
C. Gilbert Wrenn (1947-1949) Twelfth President At the ACPA Business session in Columbus on Saturday morning March 29, 1947, an announcement was made that C. Gilbert Wrenn was elected to a two-year term as president. At the time he was elected, he was author of...
Daniel D. Feder (1945-1947)
Daniel D. Feder (1945-1947) Eleventh President Daniel D. Feder was elected ACPA president in 1945. At the time of his election to a two-year term, he was on military leave for service with the U.S. Navy from his position as Executive Officer and Supervisor,...
E.G. Williamson (1941-1945)
E.G. Williamson (1941-1945) Tenth President The official announcement of E.G. Williamson's election to the presidency of ACPA was made at the first Business session at the Atlantic City convention on Thursday, February 20, 1941, nearly ten months before the...
Helen M. Voorhees (1939-1941)
Helen M. voorhees1939-1941 NINTH ACPA President Helen M. Voorhees Ninth President 1939-1941 Helen M. Voorhees, the fourth women president of ACPA, was elected near the close of the annual Business session in Cleveland on Thursday, February 23, 1939. As was the...
Aaron John Brumbaugh
Aaron John Brumbaugh (1937-1939) Eighth President Aaron John Brumbaugh Eighth President 1937-1939 The slate of officers presented by the Nominating Committee to those in attendance at the Business session in New Orleans on Thursday, February 18, 1937, did not...
Esther Lloyd Jones (1935-1937)
Esther Lloyd Jones1935-1937 SEVENTH ACPA President Esther Lloyd-Jones was elected unanimously as president of ACPA for a two-year term at the Business session in Atlantic City on February 22, 1935. She was Assistant Professor of Education and an instructor in...
Karl M. Cowdery (1933-1935)
Karl M. Cowdery (1933-1935) Sixth President Karl M. Cowdery was elected president of ACPA at the annual Business session on Saturday afternoon, February 25, 1933, in Minneapolis. When elected he was Associate Registrar at Stanford University. Also, he was...
Jack E. Walters (1930-1933)
Jack E. Walters1930-1933 FIFTH ACPA President The report of the Nominating Committee at the NAPPO Business session in February 1930 at Atlantic City included J.E. Walters for president for a one-year term. He was elected to a two-year term at the annual...
Francis F. Bradshaw (1928-1930)
Francis F. Bradshaw (1928-1930) Fourth President During the Boston conference on Tuesday afternoon, February 28, 1928, Francis F. Bradshaw, Dean of Students at the University of North Carolina (since 1920), was elected president of NAAS at the annual Business...
Robert K. Speer (1927-1928)
Robert K. Speer (1927-1928) Third President At the age of 28 and still a bachelor, Robert K. Speer was elected president at the annual NAAS Business session In New York City on January 22, 1927. He was the first man to be elected NAAS president. He was Assistant...
Margaret Cameron (1925-1927)
Margaret Cameron (1925-1927) Second President Margaret Cameron was elected NAAS president at the annual Business session in Cincinnati on Friday, February 27, 1925, for a one-year term. At Washington, D.C. in February 1926, she was re-elected for another year....
May L. Cheney (1924-1925)
May L. Cheney (1924-1925) First President Family financial problems caused Mrs. May L. Cheney to organize a commercial teacher placement office in San Francisco in 1886 when she was 24 years old. Up through 1897 her business became authoritative and profitable,...