BackgroundIn 1957, Dr. Harry Hepner (Syracuse University) presented the idea of an organization for advertising educators to Robert Feemster, advertising director for The Wall Street Journal and chairman of the Advertising Federation of America. Feemster agreed such an organization would be a good idea and asked Dr. J. Leroy Thompson, first director of the Dow Jones' Educational Service Bureau, to invite teachers to attend the 1958 Dallas AFA convention. Attending that first 1958 Dallas meeting were:
At the 1960 Academy meeting in New York City, Hepner was named the First Academy Fellow. During the 1960-61 year, membership grew from 123 members to 241. The Academy established relations with the Association of National Advertisers, Association of Industrial Advertisers, and the American Association of Advertising Agencies. Today, the Academy has over 600 members. The Executive Committee of the Academy, which meets twice a year, consists of a President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Past President and Executive Secretary; the nationally-elected President of the Academy annually appoints over 100 members to approximately 15 committees. The Academy maintains relationships with many advertising-related associations, including the INAME and the Accreditation Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Academy Purpose Among the purposes of the Academy listed in the 1962 Yearbook were:
The March 1963 AAA Newsletter carried two articles: "Education for the Trustees of 12 Billion Dollars Per Year," by Otto Kleppner, and "Scandinavian Advertising," by Royal Ray. By March 1964, the Newsletter carried articles by Arnold Barban (Univ. of Houston), Charles J. Dirksen (Univ. of Santa Clara), George T. Clarke (New York Univ.), Louis C. Wagner (Univ. of Washington), and Ed McGee. Today, the Academy continues to publish the AAA Newsletter, as well as the
scholarly Journal of Advertising, and the Proceedings of the Annual Conference.
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