Association News

Dear IACLEA Members:

These are extraordinary and challenging times.  It is important to all of us at IACLEA—your Board of Directors, leadership, and staff—that you know we are here for you.  In the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, I assure you that IACLEA is here and is ready to share its support.

As you know, too, IACLEA’s 2020 Annual Conference & Exposition was scheduled to take place next month in New Orleans, Louisiana, one of America’s greatest cities. It is regrettable, but due to federal and state health guidelines and our members’ own travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, we will not hold our conference in person this year.  In its place, we have scheduled a Virtual Annual Conference to take place on June 22–25 on IACLEA’s new, expansive online learning platform.  We have worked aggressively to launch the IACLEA Online Education Center, which will be featured on an updated and exciting new CONNECTIONS Web page next month.  The Virtual Annual Conference courses will be available as a package through the end of the 2020 dues period, August 31.

We are excited to release the new online platform.  It is timely, as IACLEA members everywhere will need expanded access to training and services due to both travel restrictions and college and university budget challenges in the coming year.

You may already be aware that IACLEA has posted a variety of COVID-19 resources, advisories, and information in IACLEA CONNECTIONS, and also on the IACLEA website, where these resources are available to non-members. We continue to update and expand the information daily

Need your IACLEA CONNECTIONS login refreshed? Please contact member services at info@iaclea.org or 855-442-2532.

In addition to distributing information, IACLEA CONNECTIONS, our online members portal, shares near-daily discussions among members, as each phase of planning and adapting to the crisis unfolds. Please take advantage of CONNECTIONS for reliable answers and rapid, practical advice from your peers. Put your questions and experiences online, and you are certain to find someone in IACLEA’s network who can respond with recommendations. In turn, other members will also appreciate their own recommendations and comments. 

IACLEA convenes weekly COVID-19 Rapid Response Briefing Calls, where you can hear from public safety and higher education leaders on the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on colleges and universities. These live events are archived in the COVID-19 Resource Library in IACLEA CONNECTIONS for future learning.  To date, we have held more than ten online webinars, with two happening this week. 

Please take advantage of these important resources.  While things are changing daily, know that your membership dollars are working for you and that IACLEA stands ready to assist you in every way possible.  We are here for you.  Thank you for your commitment and support to your communities.  Stay safe and know we are in this together.

John Bernhards
Executive Director