Collegiate Middle Level Association

The Collegiate Middle Level Association (CMLA, formerly the Student Association for Middle Education) began in 1989 under the direction of Dr. John Swaim from the University of Northern Colorado. Through the years, the organization has experienced significant change; it has grown steadily and gained recognition for the potential influence of its members on the future of middle-grades education. In the early 1990s, CMLA was an organization of individual membership and its finances were dependent on those individual memberships and one meeting a year. There were four institutions of higher education with active chapters: the University of Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa University, Appalachian State University, and Illinois State University. When officers were elected they likely represented different institutions.