History of IAAP
During World War II, the U.S. government issued frantic calls for secretaries,
clerks, and others who could assist in the war effort. Secretaries "manned"
the home front and the office front as many women entered factories,
war plants, and various jobs formerly held by men. In 1942, to provide
a network for secretarial staff, the National Secretaries Association
(now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals)
was established.
The president of the National Secretaries Association's first chapter
(Kaw Chapter in Topeka, Kansas) was Florence Overbey, who enlisted in
the Women's Army Corp. Another founding member, Anita Harwick of Topeka,
joined the WAVES. Numerous other NSA members enlisted in the women's
branches of the Armed Services. Others volunteered services for local
branches of the Red Cross, or selling war bonds, handling correspondence,
and other volunteer activities (putting their skills to work AFTER being
at their regular jobs all day -- or night, if they were on the swing
shift with Rosie the Riveter).
In May 1942, Articles of Incorporation were filed under the laws of
the State of Missouri. Autonomous Chapters sprouted all over the Midwest
in the mid-40s, and soon spread across the country.
The first issues of the association's magazine, The National Secretary
(now OfficePRO), were published in 1943. In 1944, efforts began to unify
the chapters into one centrally-governed association, similar to its
structure today.
The first inter-chapter meeting of the association was held at Omaha,
Nebraska, in April 1944, with members from Kansas City, Des Moines,
Lincoln, and Omaha in attendance. At this meeting, a plan was drafted
for establishment of a district comprising chapters in that area.
After the war years, the first nationwide convention was held at Kansas
City, Missouri, in February 1946. From the attendance there it was possible,
for the first time, to gauge the progress of the association on a national
scale. The convention register included names of approximately 200 members,
49 of whom were voting delegates. There were 115 chapters at that time.
In July 1946, Amended Articles of Incorporation were filed in the State
of Missouri which vested the control of the association in the membership,
established a democratic form of government, with equal rights of every
chapter to a voice in association affairs, and gave the members the
right to elect their own officers.
The first Certified Professional Secretary examination was administered
in August 1951. There were 281 candidates at 15 examination centers
(today there are more than 250 exam centers worldwide).
Professional Secretaries Week (in 2000 renamed Administrative Professionals
Week) was originated in 1952 and is sponsored annually by IAAP. It is
observed the last full week in April with Wednesday set aside as Administrative
Professionals Day.
The Articles of Incorporation were amended to establish an international
status, and the first chapter outside the continental United States
or its territories was installed at Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada,
in 1954. Chapters were formed in Mexico City, 1959, and Helsinki, Finland,
1960, prior to the Bylaw Amendment in 1962 providing for affiliate status
worldwide.
Members voted by mail referendum to change the name of the association
in February 1981 to Professional Secretaries International (PSI), clarifying
identity of the membership in a new decade for the professional secretary.
In July 1989 the Bylaws and Standing Rules were amended to provide
full membership status to members located outside the United States,
its territories, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States,
or Canada. In 1992, these units became known as chapters at large.
In 1994, PSI purchased the building and site of our present world headquarters
offices in Ambassador Park, a business subdivision in Kansas City, Missouri.
A building dedication ceremony was held on April 8, 1995.
At the 1995 International Convention in Seattle, Washington, delegates
voted to approve a bylaws amendment that added "The Association
for Office Professionals " as a tag line to the name of the association.
In August 1998, PSI member delegates at the 54th annual Convention
and Education Forum in Atlanta, GA, voted to change PSI's name to the
International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), to
reflect more of the job titles being used today.
In the year 2000, IAAP changed the name of Professional Secretaries
Week and Professional Secretaries Day to Administrative Professionals
Week and Administrative Professionals Day
In 2001, IAAP introduced the Certified Administrative Professional
(CAP) program, an additional advanced certification.
IAAP continues to provide education and training and set standards
of excellence recognized by the business community on a global perspective.
Our present and future vision is "to inspire and equip all administrative
professionals to attain excellence."
NSA/PSI/IAAP
Association Timeline
- 1942
- First chapter of what soon becomes the National Secretaries Association
(NSA) is founded in Topeka, Kansas, followed quickly by chapters in
Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
- 1946
- Two hundred members attend the first nationwide convention in Kansas
City, Missouri. Delegates, drawn from 115 chapters, approve the development
of the Certified Professional Secretary® program.
- 1950
- Merger with Secretaries International brings NSA 467 new members
and a new project-building a home for retired secretaries.
- 1951
- Of 281 candidates, 62 pass a six-part examination and become the
first recipients of the CPS® rating.
- 1952
- U.S. Department of Commerce joins NSA in sponsoring the first National
Secretaries Week (now Administrative Professionals Week) to recognize
"the secretary, upon whose skills, loyalty, and efficiency the
function of business and government depend."
- 1954
- NSA goes international, with the first chapter formed outside the
continental United States in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
- 1958
- Creation of the Retirement Centers Trust.
- 1960
- NSA established Future Secretaries Association, a network of chapters
in high schools.
- 1964
- Asociacion de Secretarias Ejectivas de Panama becomes first foreign
secretarial association to affiliate with NSA.
- 1966
- With $100 seed money, the Research and Educational Foundation is
created to fund projects that will "benefit the secretarial profession
as well as the fields of business and education."
- 1967
- Convention delegates voted to open membership to men; first man
joins six weeks later.
- 1971
- Language barriers fall as NSA offers the CPS examination in French
in Canada and in Spanish in Puerto Rico.
- 1972
- Twenty-year dream culminates with dedication of Vista Grande, an
11-acre retirement complex in Rio Rancho, near Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- 1981
- Name changed to Professional Secretaries International.
- 1987
- CPS program is restructured, requiring recipients to recertify their
credentials every five years.
- 1988
- Entry-level Office Proficiency and Certification (OPAC) Program
makes its debut.
- 1989
- PSI purchases land in Kansas City for potential headquarters. Bylaws
and Standing Rules amended to provide full membership status to members
outside North America and U.S. territories, with voting rights to
International Associations.
- 1992
- PSI celebrates 50th Anniversary. First International Secretarial
Summit held in New York City.
- 1995
- PSI purchases the building and site of our present world headquarters
offices in Kansas City, Missouri. Building dedication ceremony held
April 8, 1995. Convention delegates vote to approve a bylaws amendment
that added "The Association for Office Professionals " as
a tag line to the name of the association.
- 1998
- PSI changes its name to the International Association of Administrative
Professionals (IAAP).
- 2000
- IAAP changes name of Professional Secretaries Week to Administrative
Professionals Week.
- 2001
- IAAP introduces the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP)
program.
- 2002 and beyond...
- IAAP continues to advance the secretarial/administrative support
profession and promote professional excellence, with more than 40,000
members and affiliates worldwide.
Administrative
Professionals Week/Day
(Formerly Professional Secretaries Week/Day)
Administrative Professionals Week Celebrated Since 1952
Now the largest workplace observance outside of birthdays and major
holidays, Administrative Professionals Week began in 1952 as an effort
to honor administrative staff for their efforts and attract more people
to office and administrative careers.
Mary Barrett, president of the National Secretaries Association (now
called the International Association of Administrative Professionals)
and C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation, were serving
on a council charged with addressing a national shortage of skilled
office workers that existed at the time. Together with Harry Klemfuss,
public relations account executive at Young & Rubicam, they originated
the idea for a secretaries week campaign.
After months of planning, their efforts came to fruition when U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer proclaimed the first National Secretaries
Week held June 1-7, 1952. Wednesday, June 4 was designated National
Secretaries Day. Barrett and Woodbridge were invited to Washington,
DC for the official announcement, which received widespread publicity.
National Secretaries Week was created with two objectives: to recognize
"the secretary, upon whose skills, loyalty, and efficiency the
functions of business and government offices depend," and to call
attention "through favorable publicity, to the tremendous potential
of the secretarial career."
In 1955, the National Secretaries Association changed the date of National
Secretaries Week to the last full week of April, with Wednesday of that
week being designated National Secretaries Day. The name of the observance
was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981 when the National
Secretaries Association became Professional Secretaries International
(PSI). In 1998, PSI changed its name to the International Association
of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), to further reflect the expanding
role of office staff. In 2000, IAAP changed the name of the observance
to Administrative Professionals Week to encompass the expanding responsibilities
and wide-ranging job titles of administrative support staff today.
Over the years, observances of Administrative Professionals Week have
become more focused on professional development. Today, chapters of
IAAP hold hundreds of seminars and workshops in their local communities
during this week. Other events include Administrative Professional-of-the-Year
presentations and special events saluting employees who offer exceptional
support for their office staff.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, IAAP today remains the sole
sponsor of Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals
Day. IAAP continues to believe in the importance of this event in calling
business attention to the increasing value and contributions of administrative
professionals in today's workplace.Administrative Professionals Week will be observed April 21-27, 2002.
Administrative Professionals Day is Wednesday, April 24, 2002.
