The Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) is a professional association that focuses on information technology education. The group is a non-profit national group, but its activities are performed by about 200 local chapters organized on a geographic basis, and a similar number of student chapters at college and universities.

History

The group was first organized in Chicago in 1949, as the National Machine Accountants Association, NMAA. It soon had over 20 chapters. Harvey W. Protzel, systems manager for Protzel's Company, was elected the first International President at the 1952 First Annual Convention in Minneapolis. In 1962 it adopted the more inclusive name, Data Processing Management Association (DPMA), and in 1996, the present name.

The Association began its certification program with the Certificate in Data Processing (CDP) professional examination, first held in 1962 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. In 1970 it added the Registered Business Programmer (RBP) examination. In 1974, the Association joined in establishing the Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals (ICCP) to administer the examination program and stimulate industry acceptance of the examinations. The certification is now called Certified Computing Professional (CCP)

The Association created in 1969 the annual DPMA Man of the Year Award, awarding it (incongruously, given its name) to Dr. Grace Murray Hopper

Grace Hopper

Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper was an American computer scientist and United States Navy officer. A pioneer in the field, she was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, and developed the first compiler for a computer programming language...

. After Dr. Ruth Davis of the U.S. National Bureau of Standards won the 1979 award, it was renamed the Distinguished Information Sciences Award.

Ethics

The Association requires its members to abide by a code of ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

 that has been in place for decades, predating both the HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 was enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. It was originally sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy and Sen. Nancy Kassebaum . Title I of HIPAA protects health insurance coverage for workers and their...

 and Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. The Association also requires members to operate by a "Standards of Conduct" for IT Professionals, which adds specifics.

External links

• AITP Official Web Site
• Oral history interview with Willis Daniel, Charles Babbage Institute
  Charles Babbage Institute
  The Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
  
  , University of Minnesota. Daniel focuses on the origin and growth of the National Machine Accountants Association (NMAA), later the Data Processing Management Association (DPMA). He describes how the changes in business data processing in the 1940s and 1950s led to the creation of NMAA in an effort to pool knowledge and resources as well as increase the professionalism of the emerging position of data processing manager.
• Data Processing Management Association Records, Charles Babbage Institute
  Charles Babbage Institute
  The Charles Babbage Institute is a research center at the University of Minnesota specializing in the history of information technology, particularly the history since 1935 of digital computing, programming/software, and computer networking....
  
  , University of Minnesota.