A Brief History of ACHA

 

1861:

Dr. Edward Hitchcock was named the medical director of the department of physical education at Amherst College, which is generally given credit as the first college health service.

1920:

The first American Student Health Association (ASHA) Annual Meeting took place in Chicago, held in conjunction with other associations’ meetings.

1948:

The name of the association was changed to the American College Health Association (ACHA) to avoid confusion with the American School Health Association (ASHA).

1957:

Establishment of a national office. Eight sections representing different disciplines in college health were created.

1958:

Student Medicine became the official journal of the association. Four years later, the rights were transferred to ACHA and the name was changed to the Journal of the American College Health Association.

1970:

A new constitution and bylaws were adopted. For the first time in the history of ACHA, all three major constituencies of the association—member institutions, sections, and affiliates—were represented in the governing body.

1971:

Establishment of the ACHA Executive Board.

1975:

The Executive Committee was established under the authority of the Executive Board. At the same time, the Program Planning Committee was formed to coordinate the annual meeting.

1989:

The Board established the Foundation for Health in Higher Education (now the American College Health Foundation, a non-profit agency designed to attract monies to benefit the college health profession.

1994:

The first use of ACHA’s Strategic Plan was adopted. The plan looked toward new revenue streams as more traditional income sources were gradually decreasing.

2000:

The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) is unveiled as the first comprehensive population level health status assessment tool for college students.

2010-2015:

After enactment of the Affordable Care Act, ACHA worked to monitor and influence the development of federal implementing regulations during the federal rule making process. These actions continue to occur through the present day.

2014:

ACHA announced a new strategic plan that synthesized its many activities into three overarching foci (advocacy, education, and research). ACHA re-branded itself adopting a new corporate logo (seal) that embraced the foci of its new strategic plan.