A Brief History of the New York State Economics Association

The New State Economics Association (NYSEA) is among the oldest learned societies of academics and professionals interested in the economics discipline. However, the beginning date of 1948 could not be verified by the archives and documents of the association. The association's records prior to 1968 are practically nonexistent. Members of the organization with knowledge or experience with the period before 1968 are either retired or dead.This paper establishes the historical timeline of organization from its creation in 1948 to the present. The author reconstructs the history of the New York State Economics Association before remaining documents or witnesses to the association's development are lost to the ravages of time.This is accomplished through conversations and communications with former members of the Association and efforts to locate any documents pertaining to the New York State Economics Association.The results of inquiries with former members and officers trace operation of the organization to the 1950s. The discovery of a copy of the first volume of The Proceedings of the New York State Economics Association (December 1968) in the library of SUNY Geneseo, which was missing from the archives of the NYSEA, provides the most definitive documentation of the organization's origins. It contains an article by former president Sanford Gordon who chronicles the NYSEA's history from 1948 to 1968. This combination of sources permits the construction of a fairly complete historical record of the association.The investigation also documents critical points in the organization's development, including incorporation, its journal, and entrance into the digital age.