New leaders welcomed at Alumni Association Annual Meeting

FIU Alumni Association Board: (Front, from left) Vice President Frank J. Peña ’99; Governmental Relations Officer Michael A. Hernández ’04, MPA ’11; Ana L. Martínez ’92; President Gonzalo Acevedo ’91, MBA’10 and FIU President Mark Rosenberg. Second row, from left: Anastasia García ’89; Celina Saucedo ’99, MPA ’11; Treasurer Sharon Fine ’99, MSF ’11; Pedro Pavón, Esq. ’03 and Jaime N. Machado ’01, MBA ’10. Third row, from left: Alberto Padrón’98, MBA ’09; Secretary Elizabeth Cross ’89; Alicia M. Robles de la Lama, Esq. ’98; Maria D. García, Esq. ’05, JD’08; Franklin Gentle McCune ’05, MS ’08. Fourth row, from left: Enrique Piñeiro ’03; Governmental Relations Officer Ralph Rosado ’96, MA ’03; Immediate Past President Joaquín “Jack” Gonzalez ’97, Michael P. Maher ’97 and Marlon Font ’04. Back row, from left: Samuel C. Jackson ’90; Gus Alfonso ’02, MSF ’08; Parliamentarian Eduardo Hondal ’88, MS ’00 and Tony E. Crapp, Jr. ’95. Not pictured: Gabriel Albelo ’93, Stewart L. Appelrouth MBA ’80; Ricardo C. Cabrera ’94; Lilian T. Chiu ’00; Isabel C. Díaz, Esq. ’01 and Miguel Larrea ’96.

The FIU Alumni Association ushered in a new chapter this spring with the recent appointment of new Executive Director Duane Wiles and new President Gonzalo Acevedo ’91, MBA ’10. The new leaders made their debut at the Alumni Association Annual Meeting in May, which drew record attendance of nearly 200.

In addition, four new Alumni Association Board members were installed: Tony E. Crapp, Jr. ’95; Maria D. García ’05, JD ’08; Miguel Larrea ’96 and Pedro Pavón, Esq. ’03.

Wiles, who served as associate executive director of the Alumni Association from 2006 to 2011, opened the Annual Meeting with highlights of how far alumni engagement has come. New alumni networks have opened around the globe in China, Houston, Dallas, Jamaica and Tampa. The Alumni Association has awarded tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to FIU students. At last year’s Homecoming celebration, nine alumni reunions drew hundreds of graduates back to campus.

“We’re just getting started,” said Wiles, who also serves as the new associate vice president of FIU Alumni Relations. “Your membership does mean a great deal to the institution. Your membership does work for FIU.”

Acevedo, the Alumni Association’s 29th president, is the managing senior vice president / director of the Private Client Group at City National Bank. He leads the Alumni Association’s 30-member volunteer board. At FIU, he studied political science, was a student of President Mark B. Rosenberg and earned a certificate in the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program Rosenberg founded. “Today, I feel like I am home,” Acevedo said.

Acevedo spoke of the Alumni Association’s remarkable growth. In 1991 when he graduated, membership was 509. Ten years later it was 800.  In 2011, it was nearly 20,000.

“That’s a 2,475 percent increase,” Acevedo said. “Imagine where the FIU Alumni Association will be in 10 years, in the year 2022. We will have over 50,000 alumni members.”

Rosenberg applauded Acevedo and joked, “I love your vision. Is it for 2022 or 2016? We’re in a hurry here. I’d love it more for 2016 than 2022.”

The guests also recognized a handful of outgoing alumni leaders, including Jack Gonzalez, who will now become the past president of the board; Associate Vice President Bill Draughon, who passed the torch to Wiles when he assumed a new position in University Advancement, and former Alumni Association President Jose Perez de Corcho, who has fulfilled his term on the board.