July  2020
 

On July 30, Executive Director Felice J. Levine and AERA President Shaun Harper announced that the 2021 Annual Meeting, scheduled for Orlando, FL, April 9 to 12, will shift to a completely virtual format, with extended programming. Annual meeting submissions are due by August 14, 2020, 11:59 p.m. PDT. 

“The Covid-19 pandemic makes it impossible to plan for a place-based meeting in a way that would allow for a safe and healthy convening for AERA Annual Meeting participants,” said Levine and Harper in a message to AERA members, recent annual meeting participants, and others. “We also want to be sure that the presence of AERA visitors for a conference does not lead to any further transmission of the virus.” 

Levine and Harper thanked the city of Orlando and AERA’s hotel partners for their flexibility. AERA will hold its annual meeting in Orlando in 2025. 

The 2021 Annual Meeting will be delivered through a flexible internet platform that will provide for synchronous and asynchronous sessions, interactive paper presentations, workshop and professional development courses, plus networking and meet-up opportunities that can accommodate informal gatherings, receptions, and events.

“This is a first for AERA—the opportunity to present a paper or submit a session proposal for the 2021 Annual Meeting from every continent, every hemisphere, and every time zone irrespective of considerations that otherwise preclude place-based attendance,” said Levine and Harper. 

AERA will host virtual town halls on August 19 and 21, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., to gather input on what potential attendees most wish to experience and receive. Further information will be shared soon about these town hall events. 

In the months ahead, AERA will unfold special features of the virtual meeting and provide details on how AERA intends to create a meeting that is responsive to its attendees.