About Us
History
APPA was founded in Chicago in 1914 by representatives from fourteen Midwest institutions. Over the past 35 years, membership has grown - from 100 in 1970 to the current membership levels which exceeds 5,200 individuals in over 1,500 learning institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad.
Two-year institutions were admitted to membership in 1969. The headquarters was established in Washington, D.C. in June 1972 and moved to Alexandria, Virginia in July 1984. APPA expanded its global outreach in 1993 with the creation of its first international region. In 2003, APPA embraced the philosophy of international outreach rather than membership, to allow international regions and other sovereign countries to organize and relate to APPA in new and different ways.
Organized originally as the Association of Superintendents of Buildings and Grounds, the association later became the Association of Physical Plant Administrators of Universities and Colleges. In 1991, the name APPA: The Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers was adopted to reflect increased higher education-based campus responsibilities. In 2005, the association began to identify itself simply as APPA, to pay homage to its long history, but to be inclusive of all types of educational institutions.
At the APPA 2007 conference in Baltimore on July 15, the association introduced the organization’s new logo and tagline, representative of APPA’s new brand personality. The new APPA brand logo and tagline are meant to capture what our organization is all about and are the foundations for the accomplishment of the first of APPA’s 7 Key Strategies – the development of a clear brand personality.
Study Shows School Cleanliness Affects Learning
A recent national study of college students determined there is a correlation between the cleanliness of a school’s facilities and students’ academic achievement. Entitled Cleanliness and Learning in Higher Education, the study was based around the five levels of clean identified in APPA’s Custodial Staffing Guidelines for Educational Facilities. More information.The final report is available free to APPA members and for $30 for nonmembers through the APPA bookstore
Reducing Greenhouse Gases & Achieving Climate Neutrality
On June 18 APPA produced a webinar on the topic of sustainability, presented by Walter Simpson and sponsored by Haley&Aldrich.
Miss it or want to watch it again? View a recording of the webinar and download a PDF of the presentation here.
Facilities Performance Indicators (FPI) Report Available for Purchase
Features include: Participant Summary Reports, Dashboards, Detailed Reports.
New Publication for Sale
The Green Campus: Meeting the Challenge of Environmental Sustainability
New Publication for Sale
Environmental Compliance Assistance Guide for Colleges and Universities, second edition
Election Results
Congratulations!
President-Elect:
Polly Pinney
VP for Information & Research :
Randolph Hare
VP for Professional Development:
David Gray
Your Vote Your Voice
A nonpartisan, nationwide campaign created by the National Campus Voter Registration Project to engage college students in the electoral process.www.yourvoteyourvoice.org
APPA's Extreme Website Makeover
This website is organic -- it will continually change.
Please let us know what you think. Send an email to Webmaster.
