AACUL’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

AACUL is a founding member of the CU DEI Collective and wholly affirms the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. AACUL is proud to support Leagues’ individual and collective efforts to further DEI – a cooperative principle – throughout the credit union movement.  

The League System has partnerships and alliances with DEI-focused, diversity-centric credit union organizations, networks, and others committed to DEI goals.

AACUL Awards

Illinois Credit Union System Tom Kane receives AACUL’s Eagle Award

• The Eagle Award is AACUL’s highest honor and was established in 1981 to recognize a league president who has an outstanding record of achievement at the league level, a willingness to speak out on critical and controversial issues, demonstrated leadership beyond the league level, innovation in creating or implementing new ideas, and an unremitting dedication to credit union personal principles and an unflagging focus on important issues. View a list of past recipients.

Diana Dykstra, Pam Leavitt, and J. Scott Sullivan were honored with AACUL’s 2024 Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award.

• The Eugene H. Farley League Leadership Award honors a league president and a league executive who demonstrate visionary leadership at the state and national levels. The Farley League Leadership Award was endowed by a contribution from Richard Heins, former CEO of CUNA Mutual Group (now TruStage), and named in honor of Gene Farley, former CEO of the Virginia Credit Union League, in recognition of his longtime leadership in the credit union movement. View a list of past recipients.

History of AACUL

The American Association of Credit Union Leagues is based in Washington, DC and was originally founded in 1942 as the National Association of Managing Directors (NAMD). The association went through various name changes—including the first update in 1960 to the International Association of Managing Directors (IAMD). The Association of Credit Union League Executives (ACULE) was instituted in 1979, and today it stands as the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL), changed in 1999.

Following a major legislative victory – which reversed a Supreme Court ruling – AACUL and the Credit Union League System resolved to increase credit unions’ political involvement and advocacy efforts at the national level. Part of that resolution resulted the construction of Credit Union House on Capitol Hill, which opened in 2001. Today, Credit Union House serves as both an advocacy tool and a “home away from home” for credit union advocates who come to Washington, DC to share their message with lawmakers.