2026 Annual Conference Location Announced
After 112 years it will be a first: the ACUI Annual Conference will be celebrated in Pittsburgh, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center that overlooks the Allegheny River, with views of three bridges commemorating national heroes in sports, arts, and letters: Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol, and Rachel Carson.
Slated for March 8–12, 2026, the Annual Conference location in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh is a 10-minute walk to over 85 restaurants in the city’s Cultural and Penn Avenue Strip districts, and ACUI members will have their choice of four different hotels each within one block of the convention center.
ACUI Chief Executive Officer Dr. John Taylor said the Association received proposals from a number of cities , each which had been selected based on member surveys, peer association recommendations, ease of transportation , and overall business climate. The Pittsburgh location stood out for a variety of reasons, including access to rooms, the convention center’s amenities, and support from the Pittsburgh business community.
“Downtown Pittsburgh met all of our primary criteria,” he said. “Our members can expect to have an outstanding experience in an appealing and welcoming environment, it affords us great flexibility for our evolving programmatic needs, it checks the box on us being good financial stewards, and the local support has been incredible.”
Three major universities—the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University—are within five miles of the conference, the convention center has both LEED Gold and LEED Platinum certifications, and the Westin Pittsburgh is connected by skybridge to the conference center, while three other hotels—the Drury Plaza Pittsburgh Downtown, Courtyard by Marriott Pittsburgh Downtown, and the AC Hotel by Marriott Pittsburgh Downtown—are each within ¼-mile from the center.
More details about the experience in Pittsburgh will be revealed during the 2025 Annual Conference in New York City. Dr. Brittany Wildman, director of student activities center and special programs at the University of Louisville, is the 2026 Conference Program Team Chair, and the selection process for program team members is currently underway.
