COMPACT20 AND COVID-19
March 10, 2020
Due to the continuing spread of COVID-19, Compact20, Campus Compact’s biennial national conference and related events, is canceled. The public health implications make it impossible to move forward with our events scheduled to begin in Seattle on March 29. We are profoundly disappointed to share this news, but it is clear there is no other responsible path forward.
We will issue full refunds to all registrants who request them.
Campus Compact will pay a significant financial price for this cancelation. We are a non-profit organization operating on narrow margins. If you are in a position to help us weather this storm, we will appreciate it greatly. One way for conference registrants to help is by forgoing refunds. If you would like to make a contribution to Campus Compact, visit compact.org/give. Either way, we will be immensely grateful.
The deadline to request a refund is April 1, 2020. Registrants should visit forms.gle/ZeCGqtzKuMGBbGs76 to do so.*
In recent days, we have been asked why we did not act earlier; because the decision was clearly irrevocable once made, we wanted to be absolutely sure it was the right thing to do before we acted.
There are two main reasons why this seemed important. First, thousands of person-hours have gone into planning and preparation for the conference. Our staff, our partners at Seattle member institutions, the many people who proposed sessions, session reviewers, our contractors—all of these people invested their time, energy, and intellect to make Compact20 a great event. We owed them care and deliberation before canceling the events toward which their efforts were directed.
Second, we know that the people who will be most directly affected by our decision to cancel the conference are the many workers dependent for their livelihoods on events like ours—room cleaners, caterers, maintenance workers, and more. As we enter a period of economic upheaval and health risk, these workers and their families will pay the highest price. We wanted to be certain we had no choice before we contributed to the difficulties they face. In that spirit, we ask you to think about how you can support vulnerable people in communities affected by COVID-19.
In the absence of an in-person gathering, we will try to find ways to connect our network and to share as much conference content as we can. We are actively investigating the possibility of offering some content virtually later in the spring. To get more information, be sure to sign up for our mailing list at eepurl.com/gj_rnz.
If you have questions, you can start by checking out our FAQs at events.compact.org/conference/questions, which we will continue to update. If you don’t find answers there, feel free to reach out to us.
Please take care of yourselves and those around you. Do what you can to support those likely to suffer most. And keep in touch.
*If you previously canceled your registration and were promised a refund of the $100 cancelation fee in the case the conference was not held, your $100 will be refunded automatically; you do not have to fill out a form.
March 6, 2020
We have spent the week carefully tracking information and the best available guidance about COVID-19 with an eye toward proceeding in the most responsible manner possible. CDC guidelines remain unchanged and do not limit domestic travel or public gatherings. We realize the situation may be different in a week—or even tomorrow. We will continue to make decisions based on CDC and Seattle & King County Department of Health recommendations. We will continue to update this page and remain in regular communication with conference attendees moving forward.
In the meantime, we still plan to hold the conference and connected events as scheduled.
We are aware that many states, university systems, and individual institutions are enacting policies restricting employee travel. We will be in the best position to make decisions and to negotiate with our vendors if we have complete information about those policies. We therefore ask that anyone who is affected by a policy restricting travel fill out this short form.
We will grant refunds to those whose travel is prevented by a public or institutional policy. Please email us at conference@compact.org to let us know if this applies to you.
Finally, while we have received questions about the coronavirus and a few cancellations, most of our 715+ attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors are still planning to attend. The message is clear. Everyone is excited to be at Compact20, and we’ll do our best to provide an exciting and healthy conference for our network.
In the event that it is not possible for us to move forward with the conference as scheduled, we will explore the possibility of rescheduling.
For us, there are difficult practical questions raised by any course of action. Most of all, though, we are concerned about the wellbeing of the people who Compact20 exists to bring together—and the people in your lives. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to be in touch with us at conference@compact.org. We are committed to doing our very best—and that means being open to your thoughts and ideas.
March 2, 2020
We are looking forward to seeing you March 29 - April 1 in Seattle for Compact20. We plan to hold the conference and connected events as scheduled and are working hard to balance pragmatic action with appropriate concern.
Campus Compact's leadership is closely tracking information about COVID-19, and our decisions are guided by up-to-the-minute coronavirus announcements and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Seattle & King County Department of Health. There is currently no CDC guidance limiting any travel or public gatherings anywhere in the United States. We will continue to monitor public health guidance and will update this page and be in touch via email right away if there are developments requiring us to make adjustments to our plans.
We appreciate your participation. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact us at conference@compact.org.