IACIS Founder

Enoch Haga was ahead of his time. After serving in the military in Korea, he pursued graduate education at Sacramento State. He completed a MA in 1958 with a thesis describing the impact of data processing on business education - perhaps the first formalized study on the topic ever done in the U.S. Shortly after accepting a teaching appointment at Stanislaus State University in 1960, Dr. Haga and Dr. E. Dana Gibson, a faculty member at San Diego State, collaborated to form the Society for Automation in Business Education (SABE). The purpose was "to promote the growth and development of knowledge and understanding of automation among business teachers and other interested parties." Beginning with a handful of educators interested in automation, the organization took off with some good publicity from Computerworld and other publications.

Through the organization, Professor Haga spearheaded solutions to four areas of need: 1) established the Certified Data Educator program to validate technical and other knowledge; 2) established a quarterly publication to share knowledge and research; 3) scheduled an annual conference; and 4) established the Data Educator of the Year Award. On November 23, 1960, the first issue of Data Processor, the official publication of SABE was delivered to members.

To broaden the appeal in the 1970s the organization changed its name to the Society of Data Educators. As the organization grew and prospered, members came forward to take leadership roles, and Dr. Haga slowly relinquished control and returned to his first love—writing and researching. He retired from a career in teaching and administration in 1992 and continues to write and revise his many books. As the environment and needs changed, the organization once again sought to more clearly identify its role and mission, changing the name to the International Association for Computer Information Systems.