Keri Alioto Ready to Bring Decades of Experience to New Role as Vice President of Student Affairs

Vice President for Academic Affairs Keri Alioto

Keri Anne Alioto, Ed.D., who began serving as Elmhurst University’s vice president of student affairs on Aug. 11, already holds more than 20 years of experience in academic administration.

Alioto, who previously served as vice president for student affairs at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, was selected during a nationwide search.

“From our first meeting, we all were impressed by Dr. Alioto’s energy and commitment to student success,” President Troy VanAken announced in a May 27 press release. “Our students will resonate with her, and I’m looking forward to the ideas and experience she will share when she joins our leadership team and campus community.”

Throughout her decades-long journey in academic administration, Alioto earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and Spanish from Ball State University, a Master of Science in student affairs administration from Indiana University and a Doctor of Education in higher education administration from Northern Illinois University.

A first-generation college student, Alioto said she was initially unaware that she could pursue a career path in higher education. Since she loved writing and nature, Alioto planned to work for National Geographic, as well as join the Peace Corps for an opportunity to travel.

“I credit a bunch of student affairs folks for helping me navigate that transition,” Alioto said. “I eventually became a resident assistant, and that is when my eyes were opened to the idea of a career in higher education.”

Alioto’s path in this profession included a 19-year period at Franklin College in Franklin, Indiana, beginning as the director of student activities in 2001.

Alioto’s other positions at Franklin College included assistant dean of students, associate vice president for student development and dean of student success. Additionally, she gained experience as a professor in Uganda.

Alioto said her time at Franklin College also helped her learn the value of belongingness as a primary factor of student success, as well as how to collaborate amongst personnel in academic affairs and student affairs.

“I feel like Franklin College gave to me as much as I gave to them,” Alioto said.

In 2020, Alioto joined Mount Mary University, a private Catholic institution in Milwaukee. Due to starting at the height of the pandemic, Alioto spent her first moments at MMU creating practices for testing, contact tracing and quarantining, all while offering an authentic college experience.

“There were people on the staff and on the Cabinet that I didn’t meet in person for like six months after I started,” Alioto said. “And that was a challenge.”

Alioto said her primary focuses at MMU included working on increasing student success, completion rates, retention rates and graduation rates. To help accomplish this, she collaborated with faculty to create a brand-new first-year seminar program.

“Even though I’m no longer at the institution, it was amazing work to collaborate across all of the functional areas of the university in service of creating an experience for students to be successful,” Alioto said.

Although Alioto estimated that EU is about four times the size of MMU, she said she looks forward to working with a more robust staff. She also noted that EU has a heftier amount of financial resources to offer.

“Learning the ways that we do things as Bluejays is something that is exciting,” Alioto said, adding that no two universities are alike.

Alioto praised EU’s mission of intellectual and personal growth, as well as its vision statement of innovation, equity and inclusion. Alioto specifically recalled being impressed by a graduate student who interviewed her at the end of April after reading her dissertation.

“It made such an impression on me that the students at EU are just all-in, and I won’t forget that moment,” Alioto said.

Alioto concluded that she fully embraces every opportunity to get to know not just students, but the entire EU community.

“I’m just grateful for this opportunity,” Alioto emphasized. “If anybody is interested in learning more about me or offering suggestions or just wanting to talk about their EU experience, all they have to do is reach out to me.”