In 1972 Adventist religion scholars agreed to meet in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). The Biblical Research Institute (BRI) agreed to sponsor and plan these meetings. After BRI ceased their sponsorship in 1978, Adventist scholars met informally at New Orleans. AAR/SBL informed the Adventist group that it could not provide meeting rooms nor announce the meetings in its printed program unless the group officially organized and adopted a distinctive name that did not have a denominational identifier. At the New York meeting the group officially organized, selected the name Andrews Society for Religious Studies, and elected officers. The name Andrews referred to J. N. Andrews, who is widely regarded to have been one of the first religion scholars in early Adventism. In 1993 the society unanimously voted to change its name to Adventist Society for Religious Studies. This became possible when AAR/SBL lifted the restrictions on denominational identifiers.