Remarks at the NACAC 2007 Opening Session by 2007 President, Mary Lee Hoganson, reflecting on NACAC’s 70th Anniversary

As I pondered NACAC’s history in preparation for this meeting, there were two historical themes that jumped out at me:  just how much things change and just how much they stay the same!  First, there is the theme of dramatic and dynamic change for our association:

• In 1937 representatives of 19 Midwestern colleges gathered in Oak Park Illinois, in recognition that more common good could come from working “in association” than  as institutions in isolation.  This group, which called itself the “College Field Workers”, has now grown into our association of over 10,000 national members with additional state and regional affiliated membership of nearly 10,000.  Today, NACAC’s membership is not regional; it is broadly national and even international.
• The first professional conference of the association was held at Lake Geneva WI, with ACAC President C. Arnold Serenius of Augustana College presiding. The third association conference was held in Highland Park IL in 1947, and 47 members attended.  In 1972, 25 years later, conference attendance had grown to 1,575.  You will brush shoulders with approximately 5000 colleagues here in Austin.
• The founding members were from colleges and universities exclusively.  High school counselors were not granted membership until 1955.  Today our high school members represent NEARLY HALF of our membership.  Our membership has grown to include independent counselors as well as those who serve students in community based organizations.
• Ester De Merritt of Coe College was the first woman to serve as NACAC president in 1959.  NACAC’s first African-American President was Regina Manley from Illinois, who served in 1991.  The first retired member president, someone old enough she should have known better, is me!
• The cost of registration for our conference was $1 in 1955, $5 in 1962 and $25 in 1968. And I guess I don’t have to tell you what is today!
• When the first members convened, my guess is that the conference budget was zero.  By 1955 the conference budget had grown to a whopping $1400.  I am confident that even those conference planners could never have envisioned this conference’s MILLION DOLLAR budget.
• Our founding fathers could never have envisioned that their little enterprise would accrue a bank balance of $100,000 by 1965 and despite, some challenging deficit years in between, a current net worth of approximately Ten MILLION DOLLARS.
• Nor do I imagine that they could have imagined us as property owners in the Washington, D.C. area, currently shopping for larger quarters, having outgrown our current headquarters building.

In the vein of things really don’t change ALL that much or, perhaps I should say, “never go away” forever”:

• The history of our conference session topics demonstrates an ongoing dialogue about “who is going to college”, the dilemmas related to financing a college education, and how NACAC can address equity and access.  In 1969 the Council for College attendance insisted that members address true integration of campuses across the nation. Conference sessions in the 80’s focused on the new populations of adult and underrepresented students in this nation.  In the 1990’s the “invisible minority” of gay, lesbian and bisexual students was added to the list of students who we strive to serve. Today issues of immigration and undocumented students are highlighted in our agendas.
• Our association has dealt repeatedly with the issues related to educating large numbers of returning veterans with which the association dealt at the end of WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and now must confront anew.
• We are never insulated from the nation and world around us. In 1969, our national meeting took place in Chicago, still reeling from the divisive politics of an unpopular war and struggling with racial injustice.  In 1972, our Los Angeles meeting was held just five months after the violence in Watts. In 2001, our leaders and members came together in another Texas city, San Antonio, only eleven days after September 11.  As we convene today our nation is once again debating a war, seems more divided than ever in the political arena; and we are watching on TV the events unfolding in Jena, LA., reminding us that we have far to go in mending the schisms in our nation.

As we look back at 70 years of our history, in many ways, the things that have changed least about NACAC are the ones that make its history most worth celebrating. 

• A willingness to tackle the most difficult challenges that face the association and students in this nation,
• A desire address the changing needs of students,
• An unwavering commitment to our professional members and, through them, the students we serve.

As we come together here in Austin, I ask you to join me in celebrating our past with warm and grateful appreciation for all the leaders who have gone before us.  I invite you to look forward to our future with renewed energy and dedication to the students of our nation and the world.