The Latest From NACE

February 17, 2022

We are pleased to share with you our first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Annual Report, which documents our progress toward meeting our 10 commitments to the Black community and to anti-racism. It is important to us that we share these insights with you during Black History Month—a period of time dedicated to reflecting on and celebrating the success of the Black community.

We encourage you to review the full report, which outlines efforts in each of the commitment areas, but we also want to highlight a few accomplishments:

• In November 2020, Kacheyta McClellan joined our staff as NACE’s first-ever Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging to help shape, track, assess, and advance our DEI efforts.
• In alignment with our commitments, we revised our selection processes for NACE committees and the Board of Directors to be more inclusive. In FY 21, 18% of committee members identified as Black, and more than 34% of all NACE committee members identified as people of color. In addition, of the six directors who joined the Board in July 2021, 33.33% identify as Black/African American and 50% identity as Asian/Asian American.
• NACE's HBCU Summit was held in February 2021 in partnership with INROADS and supported through our HBCU Affinity Group. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we are able to extend complimentary membership to staff at all HBCUs and provide complimentary registration to a variety of professional development activities. As a result, we now have 81 HBCUs as part of our membership and 195 individuals from 53 HBCUs attended our virtual NACE21 conference.
• We are also excited to note that, thanks to the success of our first Summit and—again—the generosity of sponsor organizations—NACE's HBCU Summit 2022, will be held on February 23, 2022.
• We intentionally applied a DEI lens to our research, uncovering inequities in paid internships and garnering insights from members on their DEI efforts. We also incorporated questions related to race and gender where appropriate into our surveys to help us identify inequities across programs and processes—with a goal of not just surfacing issues, but of providing recommendations on how to address them.

These are just a handful of highlights, but we hope they illustrate that our commitment is to action, not just words. To that end, earlier this week we joined with more than 50 higher education associations to call on the U.S. Congress to take immediate action on the threats that have been made to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

We want to emphasize that we understand commitment must be ongoing to be meaningful. We recognize that our initial steps, outlined in the report, are just first steps. We must and will build on them. We invite you to help us with our ongoing commitment.

Sincerely,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

Dave Ong
2021-22 NACE President

November 2, 2021

Data are critical to making informed decisions about our profession and the students we develop and employ. That is why it is important to us to find new ways of capturing, analyzing, and reporting data that are reliable, accurate, and timely.

Building on a rich history of delivering research findings that provide value to members, we are thrilled to announce that we have transformed our research program to meet your evolving needs. Thanks to new enhancements, you will have access to personalized data for your operations plus key insights into what the data mean and how you can act on it. This new and innovative approach puts you in the data driver’s seat.

New Enhancements to Provide Greater Value to Members

With the release of results from the 2021 Student Survey, we are debuting a new suite of research products to help you hone your operation and drive the success of your organization.

The NACE 2021 Student Survey Product Suite, which will be launched tomorrow in the Spotlight member e-newsletter includes:

Interactive Dashboard: The interactive dashboard enables you to personalize results so that you can benchmark your own operation against national data and gain insights into specific trends.

NACE Briefs: Two briefs analyze data through the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens to identify opportunities for members to achieve greater equity in employment

for new college graduates.

• NACE Brief: Virtual Recruiting examines the role virtual engagement can play in connecting with students from historically marginalized groups and provides actionable recommendations for leveraging virtual recruiting to achieve a more diverse workforce.
• NACE Brief: Inequity in Internships looks at the underrepresentation of female, Black, Hispanic, and first-generation college students in paid internships—a key path to a first job—and offers guidance on how to ensure inclusivity in early career paths.

Survey Report: The report, provided in PDF format, includes the executive summary and tables/charts for ease of use.

The 2021 Student Survey Product Suite will be launched tomorrow in the Spotlight member e-newsletter.

• All members at organizations who participated in the survey have access to the full suite at no charge. That’s a benefit of survey participation.
• All members—regardless of participation—can download the NACE Briefs for free or purchase the full product suite at a discounted rate. That’s an exclusive member benefit.

More to Come

In the months ahead, we will be releasing product suites for each of our benchmark surveys—Recruiting Benchmarks, Career Services Benchmarks, and Internship & Co-op Benchmarks. We hope you and your organization will take part.

We are dedicated to delivering research insights that will make a difference for you, our profession, and the world. The data are important to shaping our future. With your participation, we can all make an impact!

Sincerely,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

David Ong
2021-22 NACE President

August 12, 2021

Dear Colleagues:

As we prepare to kick off the 2021-22 academic year, we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the support, engagement, and commitment you demonstrated to your colleagues, co-workers, and professional community during a past year. We not only made it through—together—#WeAreNACE!—but there were a lot of amazing accomplishments we can all be proud of, including:

• NACE put its commitments to the Black community in writing in 2020-21 and revised our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement. The work is ongoing, but we had some key accomplishments this year and will have a full report to you in the coming months. We are particularly proud of the success of our HBCU Summit—which generated funds to underwrite NACE membership for all HBCUs for three years as well as provide complimentary virtual conference registration. Kudos to the HBCU Affinity Group for its work in planning the Summit!

• In April, we announced revisions to the career readiness competencies, thanks to the tireless efforts of our Career Readiness Competencies Task Force. Sample behaviors, validated through research NACE undertook in partnership with SkillSurvey, accompanied the revisions and represent a turning point in our work to help higher education and industry develop a career-ready workforce. We encourage you to share examples of your good work with the NACE community of members.

• Throughout the 2020-21 year, we worked to engage in and facilitate conversation with and among NACE members. For example, our Town Halls—free to NACE members—provided a platform for discussing pressing issues. We’re proud to say that, overall, more than 26,000 individuals took part in 101 programs and events this past year. We also had one of our most successful conferences ever, despite not being able to get together in person. NACE21 brought together more than 2,500 of us. Although we expect to be in-person in Portland in 2022, NACE21 showed us all that a virtual experience has its own benefits. In fact, we aren’t choosing between the two: We plan to offer both this coming year—an in-person conference, in Portland, and a virtual one, in our own offices. In the near-term, keep an eye out for the Call for Proposals—coming in late summer/early fall.

We would also like to thank our 2021-22 committees and task forces for their outstanding efforts in helping move the association and our community forward—from working to identify quality programming for the conference, to developing ethical resources to guide our profession, to delving into the nature of our membership offerings, and more.

Coming Up

What can you expect in the coming year? There are a host of offerings headed your way, including:

• Robust Programming. We already have a wonderful slate of professional development webinars on the books. And, we’ll be adding more, including face-to-face events potentially mid-year. In September, we are kicking off with a Town Hall. This Town Hall, free to members, will focus on fall recruiting activities as well as look back at summer internships. We’re currently conducting quick polls that will provide data as a jumping off point for the event. Watch for registration details!

• Expect DEI to continue to be at the forefront. We are planning a number of events that will spotlight marginalized communities, including students with disabilities, and move our commitments to the Black community forward, including HBCU Summit 2.0.

• Important Research Findings. We have a number of reports that will be issued over the coming year, including this fall. We’ll have a full report on what actually happened with the Class of 2020, student insights on their virtual internship experiences, a job outlook for the Class of 2022, and so much more!

Let’s Move Forward Together!

In looking back, it’s clear that it took all of us working together to stare down adversity (and there was plenty of it) and push beyond it and forward. We encourage you to harness that same grit for 2021-22.

One way to do that with your professional community is by taking part in one or more of our Affinity Groups. These groups contribute significantly to the life of our association by developing resources, weighing in on critical issues, presenting webinars for the membership, writing, and providing a safe space for members, notably marginalized individuals, to share. We can’t say enough about the good work these groups bring forward: Join and bring your own good work forward.

Sincerely,

April 15, 2021

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce the revisions to the career readiness competencies. This release marks a pinnacle point in NACE’s stewardship of competency development with and on behalf of members. 

Revised by a task force of members representing career services and talent acquisition, the eight career readiness competencies are:

We are also pleased to announce that, accompanying the revisions, each competency now has a set of sample behaviors. These behaviors have been validated through research NACE undertook in partnership with SkillSurvey. (View the competencies and the sample behaviors here.)

This is a game changer: The behaviors can serve not only as guideposts in our work with students, interns, and new hires, but also can help us in discussions with colleagues and co-workers about the important role they play in developing a career ready workforce. This significant addition will also inform the development of reliable and valid tools and assessments, critical for understanding levels of competency proficiency among students and candidates.

Revised, Simplified, Clarified

Overall, the revisions are designed to simplify and strengthen the competencies’ usefulness and relevance to the work of our profession. However, two competencies have undergone significant change:

• “Career management” is now “career and self-development” and focuses on individuals’ journey of learning, self-awareness, and networking as means for personal and professional development.

• Global/intercultural fluency” is now “equity and inclusion” and recognizes the importance of these concepts to a successful workforce and the responsibility we all have to contribute to a society free of racism, sexism, and other forms of bias and discrimination.

We encourage you to review the revisions and sample behaviors and consider how these will impact your work going forward.

Thank You

On behalf of the association, we would like to thank the Career Readiness Competencies Task Force, which has dedicated nearly two years to this important initiative.

We would also like to thank the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee and the NACE Board of Directors for their input. In addition, as you may recall, as part of its work, the task force solicited input from the membership: Thank you to the more than 300 members who weighed in with thought-provoking insights and recommendations!

Together, we are working to build a vibrant workforce.

Sincerely,

2019-20 and 2020-21 Career Readiness Competencies Task Force

March 18, 2021

Dear Colleagues: 

Over the past year, the Asian community has been subjected to hateful rhetoric and increased acts of violence and racism. Chillingly, hate crimes against the Asian community have grown almost 150% in just a year, according to California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The murders that occurred in Georgia on March 16 are the latest in a string of hate-filled and horrific acts targeting the Asian community.

On behalf of the association, we want our friends, colleagues, and all those impacted in any way by these sickening acts to know that we are here for you. We will do our part as an association to make a difference, to bring awareness, and to be part of the solution.

The Asian community needs us all to step up and demonstrate our solidarity. We must all speak up to call out and condemn violence, racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and hate. In addition, let each of us evaluate how we can make a difference, in small and significant ways. It will have an impact. At NACE, we are committed to doing so.

By being part of the solution, we can work together to produce a college educated workforce that is free from discrimination and hate, and one that is rooted in equitable outcomes.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Lasater 
2020-21 NACE President  

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

NACE believes in a world that is inclusive in approach and where equal opportunities and equitable outcomes exist for all. Read NACE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement at www.naceweb.org/dei-statement.

June 5, 2020

Dear NACE colleagues:

Earlier this week, we shared our commitment to fighting racial injustice and furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion. (See June 2 message, below.) Our message included a promise that NACE would work to advance change and support members’ in their efforts.

While there is much work ahead of us, to meet the immediate needs of our members, we’d like to invite you to take part in the following:

• Town Hall: We Stand Together, Tuesday, June 9, 2 – 3 p.m. (Eastern). Gain perspective from and identify actionable steps with a panel of your peers. (Free)
• Virtual Roundtable: We Stand Together, Friday, June 12, 2 – 3:30 p.m. (Eastern). Engage in small-group discussions to share your thoughts and feelings, and follow up on ideas generated through the Town Hall. (Free; exclusive to NACE members)
• NACE Connect, June 15 – 26, offers a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused programming, including:
  • Featured speaker Chelsea Williams, discussing the “Future of Work 2020: 5 Strategies to Develop & Retain Diverse Early Career Talent.” (Free)
  • A content track focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, with five sessions covering a range of important topics.
  • “Inclusion, Equity, and Affinity: NACE Members Advancing Awareness and Change,” a special presentation focused on how you can help drive change around personal and professional identities through NACE Affinity Groups. (Free)

• New Podcast: Exploring Privilege and Bias Podcast. (Free)

• New resources provided through member insights, including:
  • The Importance of Language in Supporting DEI Efforts
  • Feeling Seen, Heard, & Affirmed: Pursuing Professional Development Opportunities as a Person of Color
  • Investing in Technology to Close the Digital Divide

Of course, there is much more to come. We will need your voice and participation as we work to advance change; further diversity, equity, and inclusion; and fight racial injustice.

We are all in this together. As a profession, we are well positioned to make a real impact on all of these issues and can exact positive change for a better future for us all. We stand together. #WeAreNACE.

Sincerely,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

June 2, 2020

Dear NACE Community,

There is so much hurt and pain being felt throughout our country right now.  In these unprecedented times, it is important that our NACE community knows that we stand together...together with our staff, colleagues, family, and friends. 

Injustice, inequity, and racism are not okay.

We are all impacted by what is happening and all have a role to play in fixing these systemic problems. As an association, we have to be committed to addressing the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion together.  We have a distinct role to play on an individual level, but also as a community of professionals. NACE is dedicated to workforce development and the employment of the college educated; we can make a tangible impact on these societal issues.  Let’s take this moment to do so. 

Together we can and will create solutions that make a difference.  We need and will make real change.  And we must. 

#BlackLivesMatter #WeAreNACE

Truly,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

May 28, 2020

Good afternoon:

In this ever-changing environment, it is more critical than ever to understand leading and promising practices. That is why we are planning a virtual experience to take place in June. We want to provide you with timely content on important issues affecting your work.

NACE Connect: The Virtual Experience will span two weeks (June 15 – 26, 2020) and will provide insight and expertise around three themes: 1) Virtual Engagement of Students and Candidates 2) Career Readiness and Work Force Development, and 3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

We have approximately 30 sessions slated for NACE Connect covering a range of topics—from the future of campus recruiting to ensuring diversity in the workplace to developing a career readiness kit using intelligent technology—and each reflects the challenges we face as a result of the pandemic and addresses the “new normal.”

You’ll also have the opportunity to take part in Affinity Group Meet Ups, discussions with this year’s NACE Award winners, and product showcases from leading providers that support the profession. Throughout the experience, we will offer a blend of free-to-member and low-cost programming. Watch for details to learn how you can take part!

NACE Connect is just the beginning of a new slate of professional development opportunities we’ll be offering going forward. Our focus for professional development—in fact, for all things NACE—will be to connect, educate, and empower our membership to move forward. We also recognize that many of our members are facing reduced budgets and will need to weigh carefully how they spend their dollars. We promise to provide a range of quality programming that is affordable, timely, and laser-focused on the issues and challenges you face.

We look forward to “seeing” you at NACE Connect. #WeAreNACE!

Sincerely,

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

April 30, 2020

We’ve made it through a very unusual April. While the COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous impacts on our work as a profession, it has also provided us with an opportunity as an association to take a leadership position. We thought you might be interested in learning about some of the advocacy- and media-related activity NACE has engaged in on behalf of our membership during this time of crisis.

First, we have joined with a number of other higher ed associations and organizations to advocate for policies and legislation that support higher education, students, industry, and the work force. These efforts are designed to provide you with a voice in the national dialogue. Many of these issues are directly related to funding for institutions and students, but others address pressing concerns including providing tax relief for institutions and students and lifting state licensing regulations for physicians to allow for more widespread use of telemedicine. In all, NACE has supported more than a dozen recommendations related to coronavirus legislative and regulatory issues.

In addition, through our interactions with the media, NACE has been working to provide fact-based insight to the public about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. NACE quick poll results have been shared with more than 800 media contacts over the last several weeks and been featured in a variety of outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Inside Higher Education, Washington Post, and more. You will find a selection of media citations on the website. Thank you for sharing your stories and the work of your association—and please continue to do so!

Finally, we are also working on initiatives to strengthen our professional community, bring you new and timely learning and networking opportunities, and plan for the challenges we face today and tomorrow. Stay tuned.

As always, thank you for your support. We are in this together—#WeAreNACE!

Sincerely,

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

April 23, 2020

I regret to announce that the 2020 NACE Conference & Expo, scheduled for Minneapolis in June, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has resulted in travel restrictions, prohibitions on large gatherings, and closures of various sites, including the Minneapolis Convention Center.

We are also cancelling the 2020 Executive Leadership Symposium (June 1) and the Preconference Workshops (June 2), which were planned to coincide with the conference.

If you are registered for the conference, workshops, or symposium, you will receive a separate message later today with details about receiving a credit or refund for your paid registration and information about cancelling any hotel reservations you may have.

I would like to thank the many people who worked to bring NACE20, workshops, and symposium to the membership—the NACE Conference Committee, sponsors, exhibitors, presenters, faculty, and facilitators: Your dedication, effort, and support are deeply appreciated.

In addition, please know that your work has not been for naught. Although it is not possible to reschedule NACE20 as an in-person event, we plan to offer much of the expertise and insight the conference would have provided and are working to transition many presentations and activities to other formats. We are also developing plans to offer the Executive Leadership Symposium and Preconference Workshops in alternative formats. Please stay tuned!

Finally, I would like to thank the membership for its patience and support as we work behind the scenes to determine how to best move forward with our professional development and networking offerings—safely and securely. We will keep you apprised of developments, but please reach out to me, the Board, or the NACE staff if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

April 16, 2020

Good morning: We hope you, your family, friends, and colleagues are safe and well. We recognize that our personal and professional lives continue to be turned upside down. At the same time—and perhaps this has never been more apparent—we recognize that our professional community also continues to grow stronger and more supportive: #WeAreNACE is more than a hashtag—it encapsulates the nature and power of our membership. NACE is here to help you harness and unleash that power, to respond to and anticipate your needs, and to support you and help you manage through this crisis and beyond.

As part of that effort, we are pleased to announce that we are extending our free virtual roundtable series through the end of the month as we recognize the need for all of us to come together to lean in, collaborate, and share common solutions.

NACE’s roundtables are focused on enabling you to connect with your member colleagues to share challenges and solutions: NACE’s roundtables tap directly into the knowledge, strength, and collaborative spirit of the membership. To that end, we have added several roundtables around topics that are pressing concerns for members right now—virtual internships; leading during a crisis in a virtual environment; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Watch your mailbox for an invitation to take part, or check out the links to registration information on our Coronavirus Updates page.

Besides taking part in the roundtables, you can leverage the power of the membership through other events and resources:

• Register for one or both of the remaining Town Halls (April 21 and April 29).
• Explore the resources that have been collected from and through the membership on the Coronavirus Updates page: You’ll find access to quick poll results, articles, and archives from the recent Town Hall events.
• Post, reply, or just listen in on the NACE Community: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel or go it alone. You’ll find a wealth of thoughtful, amazing, and actionable insights and ideas offered up by your peers.

On a different note: You likely are wondering where we stand with the NACE 2020 Conference & Expo—our biggest in-person event and where we, as a community, are used to engaging, learning, and celebrating on a grand scale. Of course, we continue to monitor guidance from federal, state, and local authorities, but, given the timing of the conference, we need to make a final determination and expect to make a decision sometime next week. We will communicate that decision to you and to the many individuals involved in the conference. And, just a heads up: We are working on how we can engage, learn, and celebrate together outside of an in-person conference, if necessary.

Finally, thank you for your ongoing support and commitment, your willingness to collaborate and share with each other, and for giving life to our hashtag: #WeAreNACE.

Sincerely,

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director

April 2, 2020

View the video

Hello, NACE colleagues and friends:

First, I have to note that this is my first full week on the job as NACE’s executive director: It has been quite a start, but I want you to know that this is my dream job, and I am very glad to be a part of the association, especially at this time.

In the last three weeks, the world as we know it has changed. We are all in the middle of a significant shift in the way we work, educate, and live. This current disruption will surely have a dramatic impact on the future of everything. This includes the very important work that we all do to support and facilitate work force development and the employment of the college educated.

During this time of uncertainty, I want you to know that your professional association is here for you. We too are busy adjusting to this new normal, but we are dedicated to getting it right. With your feedback and involvement, we are poised to meet the challenges of today and prepare for what is to come.

The strength of NACE is its members—13,000 strong. Together we can adjust, pivot, and produce dynamic and important outcomes. Together, we will bring calm to the chaos, and together we will produce solutions to the most pressing issues of the day. I want to assure you that you can rely on NACE to guide you through all of this and to help make sense of it all.

On a personal note, I would like to say that it is my wish that we will be able to meet in person in June at the annual conference. However, I think we all recognize that, with each passing day, an in-person conference seems less and less likely. Like other groups with June events, we expect to make a decision by the middle of April. We are also considering how to share the rich content that would have been part of the conference should we have to cancel. We will keep you informed.

In the meantime, please know that we are working diligently to meet your needs. NACE is here to support you by providing you with critical data and research, promising and best practices as they develop, resources that are relevant, a voice with governmental decision makers, and connections to other members who are going through the same challenges.

Finally, I would like to thank you: During this unprecedented time, you have shown incredible resilience, agility, and creativity. I am inspired by you and your passion. You are the reason that I joined the NACE staff. I look forward to serving as the executive director of your association and to leading, facilitating, and engaging in the important work of this profession and creating a bright future where we thrive.

We truly are in this together. We are a professional family. We’ve got this.

Sincerely,

Shawn VanDerziel
NACE Executive Director
Twitter: @ShawnVanderziel
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/svanderziel/

March 23, 2020

Good morning, and I hope you all are remaining safe and focused on the well-being of yourself and your family and friends. It goes without saying that the coronavirus pandemic has altered our professional and personal lives in vital and varied ways. On behalf of the NACE Board of Directors and staff, I would like to thank all of you for stepping up to support each other. As always, your willingness to share expertise, ideas, and data continues to demonstrate our commitment as a community.

As we need to rely on each other more than ever, I would like to offer two key ways we can help each other:

• Participate in NACE’s surveys and quick polls: NACE is conducting research on an ongoing basis to determine the effects the pandemic is having on our operations, plans, and recruiting. If you are the designated survey participant for your school or organization, please share your data. (To find out who is designated to respond to surveys from your institution/organization, contact research@naceweb.org).
• Stay connected through the NACE Community to share your ideas and resources: And be sure to upload your samples and other materials to the NACE Community Library.

Also, although we cannot meet up in person for the time being, we can tap into our collective thinking in a variety of ways. We are planning for additional ways to connect virtually. There are currently several ways we can continue to connect including:

• Town Hall – April 8: Our next free Town Hall is dedicated to practices higher education and university recruiting can use to ensure the safety and well-being of staff, employees, and students. (Register here.)
• Quick Poll Results: Get the latest updates on what is happening in higher ed and industry and how that affects recruiting and employment.
• Member Ideas/Suggestions: Get insights and ideas from your fellow members to help you manage your operations and services. This resource is updated multiple times during the week.
• Buyers Guide: Many of our Business Affiliate members are positioned to help you manage your operations and deliver your services. You’ll find information about their products and services in the NACE Buyers Guide.
• Coronavirus Updates: This page offers a collection of relevant links.

Updates: First-Destination Surveys, In-Person Events
We have received some questions regarding the survey currently underway (Class of 2019) and the pending survey (Class of 2020).

We are extending the deadline for reporting results for the Class of 2019 to June 30, 2020.

In addition, we recognize that, as many institutions collect data at graduation, many members will need to use different strategies to collect data from the Class of 2020. We are developing recommendations to assist and will reach out to all college members with guidance.

Finally, please be aware that we continue to monitor guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding travel, large gatherings, and safety concerns and will keep you apprised of any changes or modifications to the NACE conference and other NACE in-person events scheduled for June and beyond. Your safety and that of our staff and partners is paramount.

In the meantime, and as I noted in my last message, we will provide a full refund on registration to anyone who must cancel their paid registration for an in-person event scheduled between now and the end of June 2020 due to illness or travel restrictions implemented by their organization. (See refund details.)

As always, we will keep you apprised of developments, but I encourage you to reach out to me, the Board, or the NACE staff if you have questions or concerns. Stay safe, and stay connected!

Sincerely,

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman

March 11, 2020

On behalf of the NACE Board and staff, I want to share with you how your professional association is responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) in relation to the upcoming NACE20 conference.

We recognize that, while many of our members are currently in low-risk areas, we have seen how the coronavirus has impacted our member organizations. Several university member organizations in high-risk areas have moved their classes online and restricted international travel. Several employer members have also restricted travel as well as engagement at large events, and some have asked their employees to work from home. Whereas not all our members work in high-risk areas, we want to emphasize our commitment to the safety and well-being of our community.

NACE20, scheduled for June 2 – 5, in Minneapolis, promises to be yet another excellent opportunity to gather, learn, share, and celebrate, but we need to ensure that we support our community and each other by taking sensible and appropriate action to make our time together successful. We are closely monitoring the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for guidance. As of now, the CDC has not issued guidance limiting domestic travel or public gatherings, but we will continue to monitor the CDC and other credible sources and will keep you apprised.

In addition, we are working to ensure robust and effective health and safety standards as part of planning for our annual gathering, and I want to assure you that we are working closely with the Minneapolis Convention Center, hotels, and our other partners in Minneapolis to ensure all appropriate measures will be in place both behind the scenes and out in front. Hand sanitizers are standard at most gatherings these days, but we will also implement sensible policies, such as “no hugs, no handshakes.”

Because we recognize that this is a very fluid situation, we have made a number of modifications and taken a number of steps to support our community:

• We are extending the discounted Early-Bird Rate for NACE20 through June 5, 2020. This will provide you with the flexibility to make last-minute decisions about attending conference, if necessary.
• The extended Early-Bird Rate also applies to the preconference workshops, which are scheduled to coincide with NACE20.
• We have modified our policies for NACE events, including NACE20, the preconference workshops, and 2020 Executive Leadership Symposium: We will provide a full refund on registration to anyone who must cancel their paid registration for an in-person event scheduled between now and the end of June 2020 due to illness or travel restrictions implemented by their organization. In addition, we are reaching out directly to those who are hosting NACE in-person events in the next six weeks to determine whether those events will proceed as planned; we will keep registrants apprised of the status of those events as well as their options.
• Regular updates: To keep the community up to date on what is happening both in terms of NACE events and on campus and in college recruiting, we have created the Coronavirus Updates page: naceweb.org/updates. This will provide you with easy access to the latest results from our quick poll of members, articles about how members are managing the virus in their organizations and institutions, and news about conference and other NACE events. We are also providing a place for our members to share resources—see the NACE Community Library > Coronavirus Resources (member login required).
• Town Halls: We are planning a series of virtual Town Hall meetings to give our members and the larger community the opportunity to get the latest information and insights and share their questions and experiences. Details on these free events will follow.

We will keep you apprised of developments, but please reach out to me, the Board, or the NACE staff if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Christopher Carlson
2019-20 NACE President
Northrop Grumman