The Society for Technical Communication (STC) was a professional association dedicated to the advancement of the theory and practice of

technical communication Technical communication (or tech comm) is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual ...

with more than 4,500 members in the United States, Canada, and the world. The society published a quarterly journal and a magazine eight times a year and hosted an annual international conference (STC Technical Communication Summit). STC also provided online education in the form of live Web seminars, multi-week online certificate courses, virtual conferences, recorded seminars, and more. At its peak in the early 2000s, it had approximately 25,000 members. The Society ceased operations on January 29, 2025.

Overview

Headquartered in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

, US, STC was the largest organization of its type in the world according to its website. It included 50 chapters, 12 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), and over 4,500 members worldwide. STC members worked in a wide range of roles, including: *

Technical writing Technical writing is a specialized form of communication used by many of today's industrial and scientific organizations to clearly and accurately convey complex information to a user. An organization's customers, employees, assembly workers, engin ...

Editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

Consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

* Content development *

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

* Environmental safety and

health communication Health communication is the study and application of communicating promotional health information, such as in public health campaigns, health education, and between doctors and patients. The purpose of disseminating health information is to inf ...

Graphic arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Human factors Ergonomics, also known as human factors or human factors engineering (HFE), is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Primary goals of human factors eng ...

* Indexing *

Information architecture Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of shared information environments; the art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and findability; and an emerging ...

Instructional design Instructional design (ID), also known as instructional systems design and originally known as instructional systems development (ISD), is the practice of systematically designing, developing and delivering instructional materials and experiences, ...

Management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

Photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

Single source publishing Single-source publishing, also known as single-sourcing publishing, is a content management method which allows the same source content to be used across different forms of media and more than one time.Software development Software development is the process of designing and Implementation, implementing a software solution to Computer user satisfaction, satisfy a User (computing), user. The process is more encompassing than Computer programming, programming, wri ...

Technical illustration Technical illustration is illustration meant to visually communicate information of a technical nature. Technical illustrations can be components of technical drawings or diagrams. Technical illustrations in general aim "to generate expressive ...

Translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

Usability Usability can be described as the capacity of a system to provide a condition for its users to perform the tasks safely, effectively, and efficiently while enjoying the experience. In software engineering, usability is the degree to which a softw ...

Visual design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is concerned with developing the message and aesthetics in media. It also crea ...

Web design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code a ...

Most STC members belonged to one or more ''communities,'' which were either geographic chapters or special interest groups (SIGs). Most chapters were in the United States, but STC included members from 14 countries. The largest group outside the U.S. was the chapter in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. STC published a quarterly journal, ''Technical Communication'', and a monthly magazine, ''Intercom''.

Certifications

STC offered certification as a ''Certified Professional Technical Communicator'' with three tiers: ''Foundation Level Certification (Level I)'', ''Practitioner Level Certification (Level II)'' ''Expert Level Certification (Level III)''. The certification was offered through APMG International and required bi-annual renewal with 12 CEUs.

History

The organization traced its roots to the Society of Technical Writers (STW) in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and the Association of Technical Writers and Editors (ATWE) in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Both were founded in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1953. These organizations merged in 1957 to form the Society of Technical Writers and Editors (STWE). In 1960, this group merged with the Technical Publishing Society (TPS), based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, to become the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers. In 1971, the organization's name was changed to the Society for Technical Communication. The organization's main journal developed from the ''TWE Journal'' to the ''STWE Review'' to the ''STWP Review'' to ''Technical Communications'' to ''

Technical Communication Technical communication (or tech comm) is communication of technical subject matter such as engineering, science, or technology content. The largest part of it tends to be technical writing, though importantly it often requires aspects of visual ...

''. Editors of this journal have included Douglas E. Knight, Allan H. Lytel, A. Stanley Higgins, Frank R. Smith, George Hayhoe, and Menno de Jong. Other important leaders in the history of STC include Robert T. Hamlett (first president of ATWE), A. E. Tyler (first president of TPS), Samuel A. Miles (president of the Society of Technical Writers and Editors, which became ATWE's New York chapter in 1955), Vernon R. Root, Robert O. Shockney, and Stello Jordan. In 2011, Alan Houser was elected vice president of the organization; per their by-laws, he became president in 2012, and was succeeded by his own vice president Nicky Bleiel in 2013. STC's annual publications competition for 2012–2013 was held in Washington, D.C. The organization also had branches internationally. On November 12, 2012, STC's branch in India held its 14th annual conference in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Technical Communication Summit (Annual Conference)

In May or June of each year, STC held th
Technical Communication Summit
the largest conference for technical communicators in the world. The Summit included over 80 education session broken up into relevant subject areas or tracks; networking events such as the Opening General Session, Welcome Reception, Communities Reception, and Closing Lunch; an Honors Banquet; and an exhibit hall with dozens of companies offering technical communication products or services. The Summit also included preconference education for an additional price. The final summit was held in Bloomington, Minnesota, from May 14 to 17, 2024, at the Radisson Blu hotel.

Other education

In addition to the Technical Communication Summit, STC offered online education both to its members and non-members, with members receiving discounted registration rates. STC offered both live and recorded online education.

STC Honors

STC recognized outstanding individuals by conferring the titles of Fellow, Associate Fellow, and Honorary Fellow. STC's Honorary Fellow for 2009 was "

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, the co-founder of Wikipedia." STC also sponsored honorary societies for technical communication students with a grade point average of 3.5 or above: * Sigma Tau Chi recognizes students in four-year or graduate programs * Alpha Sigma recognizes students in two-year or certificate programs

References

External links

Society for Technical CommunicationsTechnical Writing Education Programs
– Los Angeles Chapter, Society for Technical Communication (LASTC)
Guide to the Society for Technical Communication Records 1956–1996
{{Authority control Technical communication Professional associations based in the United States