Dr. Kelvin Rutledge, interim vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been elected as the 2025-2026 president-elect of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). He will subsequently serve as the 87th national president for the 2026-2027 term. He previously served as vice president, Strategic Initiatives.
ACPA members selected Rutledge as president-elect during its leadership elections in August, and he will begin his term in February 2025. Following a year of service as president-elect, Rutledge will begin his one-year term as president in March 2026.
The American College Personnel Association is a leading organization in higher education, dedicated to advancing student affairs and fostering the professional development of its members. Established in 1924, ACPA-College Student Educators International honors and celebrates 100 years of leadership in and service to the higher education and student affairs community in 2024. Now boasting more than 6,500 members, ACPA strives to advance student affairs, engage students and provide professional development for individuals within student affairs.
As president-elect, Rutledge will chair the association’s Bylaws and Policies Working Council, chair the Ad Hoc Selection Committee for the ACPA27 Convention, chair and serve as a member of the 2027 Convention Planning Team, and work alongside the president and association executive director to facilitate and extend the operational strategy of ACPA.
As president, he will oversee implementation of the educational, legislative, operational, and management objectives of the Leadership Council and Administrative Council of ACPA. Additionally, he will serve as an official spokesperson and liaison for the Association to other associations and the public at large in collaboration with the executive director.
Rutledge said, “I’m incredibly humbled and honored to continue the serve the association. ACPA provided my first intensive professional development experience as a graduate student and shaped my trajectory for how I approach my work as a higher education practitioner, educator, and researcher. I’m excited to invest in the association’s future through meaningful opportunities for members, providing timely and relevant opportunities for education and professional development, and connecting practitioners, faculty, and others who want to transform higher education for the future.”
He is the first member of the SCSU staff to hold a national-level governance position within ACPA.
SCSU Interim President Dr. Dwayne Smith said that Rutledge’s election is “a testament to his dedication to our scholars and to his leadership in the field of higher education. I commend him on his accomplishments, and I am confident that he will represent the university with excellence on the national stage.”
Since August 2024, Rutledge has served as Southern’s interim vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In 2022, he was named associate vice president for institutional inclusive strategies and change management, the first person to hold this new position, which reports to the vice president for DEI. He was previously director of the Office of Career and Professional Development. Before coming to Southern, he served on various equity and inclusion boards and worked in career development at Florida State University and the University of Georgia.
Rutledge earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology and political science from Austin Peay State University, a Master of Science degree in higher education from Florida State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in higher education from Florida State University.
