ACE2020, ACE’s 102nd Annual Meeting set to begin March 14 in San Diego, has been canceled due to the ongoing and growing threat posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak around the world and in the United States, including the widening spread in California.
Even as plans for the meeting proceeded, ACE continually monitored Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health guidance and reporting on the general outbreak nationwide and in California, and arrived at several precautionary steps to ensure a safe meeting for all attendees. The determination of meeting attendees, session participants, exhibitors, and sponsors, to make ACE2020 a reality is greatly appreciated.
But events have overtaken ACE2020 and much of higher education.
A number of institutions, along with many in the corporate sector, have decided that out of an abundance of caution now is not the time for domestic travel and attending large meetings, even in the absence of a federal or state travel or meeting ban. (ACE has compiled a list of institutions that have restricted travel, canceled classes, or otherwise curtailed normal activity. Higher education professionals can join the ACE Engage® coronavirus discussion group to view this and other resources.) As confirmed cases and, tragically, deaths, began to occur in different parts of the country, several other imminent conferences and meetings around the country also began to be canceled.
Our first priority is the safety and well-being of our staff and attendees. ACE’s Annual Meeting brings together over 1,500 people from hundreds of colleges and universities in virtually every state—all of whom return to their campuses. California has declared a state of emergency, as have New York and Washington state. Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in more than half the states in this country. It seems inevitable that the news will get worse in this regard.
In light of all these developments and out of concern for the health and safety of meeting attendees, the decision was made to cancel ACE2020.
Important awards and honors will be announced at a future date. ACE is also developing plans to share some ACE2020 content virtually via the Engage platform.
Those who are registered for the meeting will receive registration refund information via email from ACE, but will need to cancel their own hotel and travel reservations.