Dean of Students and former Residence Life director James Chitwood received a rare honor when he was named the 2007 winner of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International’s Parthenon Society Award.

The ACUHO-I Parthenon Society Award is bestowed upon a member who has made an outstanding contribution to ACUHO-I and the field of housing and food service. The award is presented only when the individual has retired or left the housing and food service field.

Chitwood was honored in July at ACUHO-I’s annual conference in Seattle. He accepted the award before a thousand delegates while a presenter spoke about his work over the years.

“To be recognized and honored by my professional peers was both humbling and appreciated,” said Chitwood, who has been actively involved with ACUHO-I since 1976, including a term as president of the Midwest Region.

Chitwood served as the UW Oshkosh’s director of Residence Life from 1981 to 2000 and was named the department’s executive director in 2000. In 2006, he left Residence Life for the Dean of Students Office.

While the Parthenon Society Award could bee seen as a crowning achievement of his work with university housing, it was not his first ACUHO honor. Chitwood also received the Midwest Region’s William B. Sweet Distinguished Service Award in 1990 and ACUHO-I Foundation of Excellence Award in 2000.

ACUHO was created in 1951 in response to a rise in college enrollment following World War II. It went international in 1980. Today, the volunteer-driven organization is comprised of more than 5,800 individuals representing more than 900 colleges and universities around the world, including Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, the South Pacific, U.K. and U.S.