History of ABC: Names

The name "Association of College Teachers of Business Writing" seemed unwieldy, and the first constitution, approved by the membership in April 1937, used the name American Business Writing Association. At its meeting in 1967, recognizing the importance of oral as well as written communication, the Board of Directors voted to change the name to the American Business Communication Association. (The singular "communication" was chosen to focus on the general field of activity; "communications" seemed to denote specific messages.) The chauvinism of that name became apparent, and in 1985 the organization became the Association for Business Communication.