In the process of looking at the record of the Association's accomplishments over the past ten years, I came across some of the early records of the negotiations which brought the Association into existence, and I thought it might be of interest if I were to compare what has been done to what was envisaged as the task of the Association when the idea was first suggested. The origins of the Association go back to a seminar on Africa which met privately and informally in New York in 1954. Out of this group a plan was put forth for the formation of an African Institute, and an organizing committee, consisting of William A. Hance, Jean Comhaire, Alan Pifer, and Nicolaas Pansegrouer, was constituted to take care of the practical steps toward organizing such an institute. The proposed activities of the Institute included the assembly of documents and periodicals referring to Africa, the provision of scholarly and technical information and consultative services to educational, religious, governmental, and business groups, and the facilitation of visits to Africa for study and observation. Names suggested for the new body were the North American Institute of African Studies and the American Institute of African Studies. Not unsurprisingly, much of the discussion at this time, as now, centered about financing the new Institute.