The United States National Student Association (NSA), a confederation of American college and university student governments, was founded in 1947 at a conference at the University of Wisconsin. The NSA established its first headquarters in Madison, not far from the U. of Wisconsin campus. NSA was led by officers elected at its annual National Student Congress.  This collection follows the progression and programs of the National Student Association (NSA) and includes correspondence and notes of William (Bill) Welsh, the association's first president (1947-1948). A student at Berea College, Bill Welsh was an early member of national student groups.  In 1947, Welsh left Berea during his junior year after being named the first president of NSA at its Constitutional Convention at the University of Wisconsin.  After a year of working in Madison to establish the NSA, Welsh would return to Berea to complete his degree.

The idea behind creating a national student association was addressed at a conference in December, 1946.  A group of students, having returned from the World Student Congress in Prague, Czechoslovakia the previous summer, realized there was not a national group for students in the United States.  Some of the original goals of the NSA included:  improving student governments, promoting higher quality education, encouraging international relations, and recognition of student responsibilities.  From the early 1950s until 1967, its international program and some of its domestic activities were underwritten by clandestine support from the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1978 NSA merged with the National Student Lobby (NSL), to form the United States Student Association (USSA).

Biographical Note on Bill Welsh: William (Bill) Brownlee Welsh was born in Munfordville, Kentucky, on September 18, 1924. Welsh grew up around Berea (Kentucky) and eventually attended Berea College.  Both his parents graduated from and worked at Berea College.  Welsh’s father, Ben Welsh, was the assistant dean of labor, and his mother, Mary Cocks Welsh, supervised the boarding halls. His great aunt also served as a Dean of Women at the College.  Welsh split time during his childhood between Kentucky and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where his grandfather worked on a dairy farm.

Welsh served in World War II for three or four years. As a junior at Berea College, Welsh was elected president of the United States National Student Association (NSA) in 1947.  After working for a year in Madison to establish the NSA, Welsh returned to finish his degree at Berea.  Welsh would later join the staff of Senator Herman Lehman (New York, 1950-1957) as his assistant. After Lehman’s retirement, Welsh took over for Phil Stern as the research director for the Democratic National Committee. He also served as Administrative Assistant to Phil Hart. Welsh eventually went on to be the assistant to Vice President Hubert Humphrey.