Since the inception of the Society of Jesus in Europe nearly 500 years ago, the Jesuits have served as scholars and teachers.  In the U.S., twenty-eight institutions of higher learning constitute the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), whose organizational mission includes fostering inter-institutional cooperation among its members.  Studying and improving educational effectiveness in support of the Jesuit mission is a primary objective of the AJCU.

In an effort to provide forums for the exchange of experiences and information among its member schools, the AJCU sponsors more than 30 affinity groups.  The Conference of Information Technology Management (CITM), founded in 1986, is one of the most dynamic, and one of the oldest, of the more than 30 affinity groups organized under the AJCU umbrella.

Mike Zastrocky, then Director of Information Services at Regis, was instrumental in getting the group launched.  While assisting business officers at member schools with early technology issues, Zastrocky had the ear of Fr. Bill McInnes, S.J., president of AJCU from 1977-89. Both recognized the need to bring the computing directors from each of the Jesuit schools together so that they could share and compare notes and learn from one another.  Bernie Gleason hosted the first meeting of the group, held at Boston College in the fall of 1986, where about 30 people, representing 17 schools, attended.

The CITM has convened annually at member campuses across the country since 1986.  On two occasions, the group joined its counterparts from AUSJAL—a consortium of Jesuit colleges and universities in Latin America—in Mexico.  As the CITM looks forward to hosting its 30^th meeting in 2015, it also acknowledges the people, the places, and the world of information technology that have forged and nurtured this supportive and collegial group of educators.