To my NACTA Colleagues,

It is with great regret I share the following news. The 2020 annual NACTA Conference to be held at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces, NM is canceled. Due to the continuing impacts of COVID-19, the NACTA Executive Committee, with support from committee chairs and liaisons, voted Tuesday to cancel this year’s conference. The decision to cancel our much-anticipated meeting was not an easy one to make, but our first priority lies with the health and safety of our colleagues across North America and around the globe.

I want to recognize and thank so many of you for the work you put into this meeting as presenters and planners, and I also wish to acknowledge the logistical work you did at your home institutions in preparation to attend the annual conference. I want each of you to know how thankful we are to John Campbell who has led conference planning, and the planning committee and administration at NMSU. They have responded graciously to our decision to cancel the meeting.

Even though we will not be holding our annual face-to-face conference, I have appointed an ad hoc committee to consider ways we can proceed with specific aspects of the meetings. We will publish all accepted abstracts in the 2020 NACTA Journal Abstracts Supplement. We will also bestow our annual awards to those individuals who deserve recognition. Our annual business meeting will be held, albeit virtually. We will share more information in the coming weeks once the NACTA Executive Committee approves an alternative virtual conference option. 

Due to the cancellation, those who have already registered for the conference will receive a full refund of their registration fees. Refunds will be processed as quickly as possible. We ask for your patience during this time as all NMSU staff are working remotely and may not be able to make refunds immediately available. Also to note, you will need to cancel your hotel and airline reservations directly. Any questions regarding these reservations should be directed to the booking company, hotel or airline you worked with for your trip.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to evaluate and work through this complex and rapidly changing situation. And thank you for your engagement with NACTA, NMSU and our learning offerings. I hope to see all of you at future meetings.

Sincerely,
Foy Mills, Jr., PhD
NACTA President