Dear Delegates,

After serious deliberation, we regret to inform you that the University of St. Thomas, host of the ACIS 2020 national meeting in Houston, Texas, has determined that it would be in the best interest of all parties to cancel the conference for this year due to circumstances beyond our control.  We came to this conclusion, in consultation with the ACIS President and Vice President, due to the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 (Coronavirus), and its potential impact on the health and safety of participants at the meeting.

We have been monitoring closely the updates on the spread of COVID‑19 and the risk assessments determined by the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.   We have carefully considered multiple factors involved in hosting a large gathering of people from across the United States and other countries.  We have reviewed the evolving nature of the virus and what appears to be its increasing risk to public health.  We know this news will be disappointing, but we want to assure you that the deliberations have been made with the utmost care to ensure, first and foremost, that all of our ACIS conference participants and attendees remain safe and well.

We are grateful to our proposed keynote speaker, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, and to our plenary speakers, Sarah Townsend, Glenn Patterson, Cathy Brown, Richard Rankin Russell, Andrew Sanders and Maurice Fitzpatrick.  We also are grateful to all of the others who submitted proposals for the exciting line-up of panels and roundtables and who corresponded with us on conference scheduling.  Finally, we would like to thank the members of the ACIS Executive, members of our University team, and others who have supported us in planning this conference.

With respect to registration fees, we ask that you consider committing your fees to the University of St. Thomas to help offset the substantial cost already expended in preparing for the conference.  If you are not in a position to help, we will refund registration fees upon request; however, if your university or college, or another entity, is covering your cost, we would appreciate it if you would not request a refund.  A formal cancellation letter is available on request.  If you seek a refund, please contact acis2020@stthom.edu before April 1, 2020.  Thank you for your support and understanding.

We look forward to seeing you at the ACIS National conference hosted by Mary Immaculate College in Limerick city, Ireland, in June 2021.

If you have any further questions, please direct them to acis2020@stthom.edu.

Lori Gallagher and Jonathan Ó Néill
Conference co-chairs

Kate Costello-Sullivan         Kelly Matthews
ACIS President                     ACIS Vice President