Hours after the American Council on Education (ACE) on Monday canceled its annual conference, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) followed suit, canceling or postponing their own annual events in the face of the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
This is only the third time in its 100-year existence that AACC has canceled its annual meeting, said a report on CCDaily, a publication of AACC. “The other two times — in 1943 and 1945 — were due to World War II.”
AACC’s decision may have been influenced by ACE’s decision to cancel its upcoming annual conference.
“We have been working hand in hand with the ACE, our CEOs are in a great deal of contact, so I think we are working together to ensure the health and safety of all members from both organizations,” said Martha Parham, AACC’s senior vice president of public relations, to Diverse.
Canceling the annual conference will come at a significant cost to AACC, as it said all those who registered for the conference will be refunded. The event draws some 2,000 college leaders, government officials, business representatives and other community college stakeholders.
ACE and AACC join the American Educational Research Association, the Association of Community College Trustees and SXSW EDU, who earlier canceled their events.
Those who are going ahead with their events, as of Tuesday evening, are the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU), which has a diversity and equity event March 19- 21 in New Orleans; the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, or NADOHE, which has its annual meeting March 11-14 in San Diego and the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, or NASPA, which has its annual conference March 28-April 1 in Austin, Texas.
