Responding to the changes in its members’ roles on college and university campuses, ACUTA today formally announced its name change, becoming the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education.

Addition of the word “Information” in the name reflects the evolving roles that ACUTA members play in their institutions, as they manage the converging voice and data networks that are the foundation for all the communications that take place on campus.

The change, which is being made in advance of the 37th annual ACUTA Conference (July 13-17 in Las Vegas), continues the evolution of ACUTA, the only international  association dedicated to serving the needs of higher education information communications technology professionals. It represents nearly 2,000 individuals at some 780 institutions.

“On campuses and in business, with the convergence of telecommunications and data networking, the term Information Communications Technology has emerged in the global technical community,” said Jeri Semer, executive director of ACUTA. “We think this description is perfectly suited to the roles of our membership, and have decided to make it part of our identity.”

ACUTA began in 1972 as the Association of College and University Telecommunications Administrators, at a time when campus communications were almost entirely telephone system-based. ACUTA adopted its most recent name, the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, in 2002, but retained the ACUTA “brand” because it is so well known, Semer said.  www.acuta.org