Walter Czerniak

Czerniak elected to ACUTA post

by Joe King

Walter Czerniak, associate vice president for information technology at NIU, has been voted to the position of president-elect of the Association for Telecommunications Professionals in Higher Education Board of Directors.

The international organization, which has more than 800 member institutions and 2,000 members, is a nonprofit organization committed to being the best source for information and advice relevant to telecommunications and other communications technologies on college and university campuses. It is the only association specifically serving technology professionals at those institutions. Czerniak has been an active member in ACUTA for seven years.

"Wally's expertise has been a valuable resource for our members as they seek to learn how they can be more effective in fulfilling the mission of their own college or university, and his participation is critical to the continued success of our organization." said Jen A. Semer, executive director of ACUTA.

Czerniak's election follows on the heels of a year spent as an appointed member of ACUTA's board. During that year Czerniak worked as part of a committee that drafted a new long-range strategic plan for the organization. In his new role, he will assist in the implementation of that plan.

His election is actually a three-year commitment, Czerniak explained, as he will spend this year as president-elect, next year as president, and the following year as past president.

"I will spend my time this year learning the job of president," Czerniak said. "One of the responsibilities of that post is to write about 16 articles a year for various journals, which will be a nice benefit for NIU, as it will advance our name in the field."

Czerniak's term at the helm of the organization will coincide with a challenging period for ACUTA, which is heavily involved absorbing data and video communications professionals into the structure and working with the Federal Communications Commission on any and all laws that might affect its members.

"In the past, telecom was phones in the office," said Czerniak. "Now, it is all of the ways that we communicate — voice, e-mail, etc. All of that data runs over telecom systems, and networking needs to be brought in more closely with telecom. Then there is the whole generation of wireless tools that are coming out … the industry, and the rules which govern it, are getting more and more complicated all of the time."

Czerniak has participated in ACUTA since the late 1980s and has been active in its Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee. He also has been a strong voice for new technology adoption to better the higher educational environment.

In addition to ACUTA, Czerniak is an active member of several other telecom organizations, including the NASULGC Commission on Information Technologies, and Insight, a user group for owners and operators of large central office telephone systems.