NABET is a forum for academic expression for faculty within the business disciplines, technology and economics. It formerly was known as APUBEF (The Association of Pennsylvania University Business and Economics Faculty). It was founded by a small group of Economics professors from the fourteen state universities comprising the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education. Their goal was to provide a platform for sharing and exploring scholarly work among the business faculty of the fourteen state universities in Pennsylvania. As a result of their efforts, the organization has sponsored an academic conference each year for more than 35 years.
Over the years, the fundamental goal of NABET/APUBEF has been to target the business faculty of the small business colleges in Pennsylvania, and surrounding states. The organization has been successful in achieving this goal for several years. In 2006 the Executive Board determined that the APUBEF organization should be renamed as NABET and become regional in scope.