June 25, 2020
Dear members and past Annual Meeting participants,
After extensive research and discussion, AIA and SCS staff and officers have decided that the January 2021 Joint Annual Meeting scheduled to take place from January 7-10 in Chicago will now be a virtual event. We know that many of you were looking forward to attending paper sessions and other events, to seeing old friends and colleagues, and to making new connections and we recognize that a virtual event cannot substitute in many ways for a face-to-face experience. However, after full consideration of the public health risks and significant impact of COVID-19 on the ability of most of you to travel to and participate in a large conference in the upcoming months, AIA and SCS have decided that a virtual event is the most prudent course.
A virtual conference does have some advantages. Attendees do not have to be concerned about travel and hotel costs and a combination of pre-recorded and live events will hopefully mean that many of you in different time zones can attend and participate in some way. AIA and SCS are in the early stages of planning the virtual meeting and will be surveying our memberships and past attendees about potential meeting formats and options. Please watch your inbox for a link to our survey in early July.
We will be reaching out to all session organizers and open session presenters that were accepted this spring by the AIA Program for the Annual Meeting Committee regarding scheduling and presentation options later this summer. We are still accepting open session paper and poster proposals as well as workshops through our August deadlines.
We look forward to seeing you virtually in January and working with you to plan the best meeting that we are able to produce in the next six months.
Sincerely,
Rebecca W. King
Executive Director, AIA
Helen Cullyer
Executive Director, SCS
Note: The survey was available through July 15, 2020.
