American Interprofessional Institute Records

The American Interprofessional Institute can trace its origins back to Detroit in 1919 when a group known as The Interprofessional Conference was formed.  More than one hundred professionals came together to adopt the following pronouncement:   “To discover how to liberate the professions from the domination of selfish interest, both within and without the professions; to devise ways and means of better utilizing the professional heritage of knowledge and skill for the benefit of society, and to create relations between the professions leading to this end.” The Detroit group failed, possibly because America was still absorbed by post-war problems.  Whatever the reason, the spirit of the movement was resurrected when a group which came to be called The Association of Professional Men’s Clubs met in St. Paul, Minnesota on March 19, 1924.  The group was formed when the professional men’s clubs of that city issued an invitation to similar clubs in several Midwestern cities.  In all, twenty-eight men representing eight cities met to foster the spirit of interprofessional cooperation.  They drafted a Constitution that all eight clubs accepted without change, and on June 26, the directors of the organization formed Standing Committees on Ethics, Laws and Regulations, Public Affairs, Education, Interclub Relations, Publicity, Credentials, Audits Finance and Credits, and the Special Committee on Convention Programs. The Association issued the first volume of The Quarterly, (the publication of the A.I.I.) on March 1, 1925.  The first issue concerned committee reports and local club reports, but by the second issue papers were being published on topics such as “The Spirit of Professionalism” and “Insanity as a Defense in Criminal Actions.” At a convention held in Lincoln, Nebraska in October 1928 the Association of Professional Men’s Clubs voted to change the name of their organization to “The American Interprofessional Institute,” a name they felt better described the dignity, character, and serious purpose of the organization.  The American Interprofessional Institute officially was incorporated in 1933 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The A.I.I. continued to grow and flourish, meeting in local chapters, and gathering at General Councils to uphold the spirit of interprofessional understanding, as outlined in Article II of the organization’s Articles of Incorporation:   “To bring together in a spirit of fellowship, all men engaged in the practice of any of the learned professions; to liberate the professions from the dominations of selfish interest; to devise ways and means of utilizing better the professional heritage of knowledge and skill for the benefit of society of society and to create relations between the professions leading to this end, and to a better understanding of the responsibilities, duties, and obligations of the professions among themselves and to one another.”

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