The idea for a Doctor of Arts degree was originally proposed at the 1932 meeting of the Association of American Universities by Wallace Atwood, then president of Clark University. In 1967 Carnegie Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Institute of Technology), began to offer the D.A. in Mathematics, History, English and Fine Arts. The first Doctor of Arts degree in the United States was awarded in 1968, by Carnegie Mellon University, to Donald H. Taranto in the field of mathematics. Guiding principles for the Doctor of Arts degree were established in 1970 by the Committee on Graduate Studies of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and by the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States.