The University has just been awarded the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) Presidential Service Award for its consistent and outstanding service to the organisation. Prof Roelf Visser, Director of Residence Affairs and Accommodation at UP and current President of the South African Chapter (SAC)  of ACUHO-I accepted the award on behalf of UP earlier this month whilst at the annual International ACUHO-I Conference in New Orleans in the US. “I was very surprised, I didn’t know that the award was going to be made,” Prof Visser said. “But it shows that we are doing things right.”

It is the first time that the award is made to an organisation or university outside the US. “We were only a dozen South Africans amongst thousands of others attending the conference. The award was to UP, but all the South Africans there were very proud.” Since 2006 Prof Visser has spent a great deal of his time promoting the interests of the local chapter of the organisation. Under his leadership ACUHO-I SAC has grown meaningfully and already represents 18 South African universities and more than 900 professionals in this field. Office space for the local chapter is provided for by UP at 90 Duxbury Road. Prof Visser will serve the ACUHO-I SAC as president until 2012.

ACUHO-I is a professional association that “supports and promotes the collegiate residential experience”. It has about 6 500 members representing more than 800 colleges and universities in 20 countries. The headquarters are in the US. ACUHO-I aims to create value through education, advocation and network connections. The overall goal is to assist housing professionals to meet the needs of dynamic campus environments in order to make a positive difference in the lives of members and the students they serve.