To: Members of the American Economic Association
From: Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer
Subject: Annual Meeting Registration and Other Announcements

The Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association will be held as a virtual event due to the continued uncertainties related to COVID-19. There will be no in-person meeting. The live event will take place on January 3 – 5, 2021, which is Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. This has been an unprecedented year and the AEA leadership believes that, despite the departure from normal circumstances, we will have an engaging and successful 2021 meeting. 

Registration opens on September 22, 2020. To complete your registration, you will be required to acknowledge and accept the AEA Code of Professional Conduct and the AEA Policy on Harassment and Discrimination.

The preliminary program is posted at https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/2021/preliminary. General meeting information is available at https://www.aeaweb.org/conference. To learn more about what to look forward to, follow us on Twitter @ASSAMeeting.

The AEA's 2021 Continuing Education Program will be held as a virtual event on January 6 – 7, 2021.  Participants can choose from three concurrent programs. Registration opens September 22. For more information and updates visit https://www.aeaweb.org/conference/cont-ed/.

Job Market Interviews have always been a central part of the ASSA Annual Meeting, but this year, due to the cancellation of the in-person meeting, the AEA will not be providing job interview services. We hope, however, that you will continue to take advantage of the JOE Network for your candidate profiles, job listings, and letter writing, as well as the application module that includes a tool for scheduling interviews. The AEA will continue to provide Signaling and the Job Market Scramble. The Ad Hoc Committee on the Job Market offers guidance and periodic updates on conditions in the job market.

Candidates are encouraged to exchange job market information with peers on the moderated EconSpark forum at https://www.aeaweb.org/forum/, and to monitor curated and verified job status information from employers on the EconTrack job market information board: https://www.aeaweb.org/econtrack.

Guidance on a Timeline for the 2020-21 Economics Job Cycle was recently announced by the AEA Executive Committee, in conjunction with its ad hoc Committee on the Job Market. See https://www.aeaweb.org/news/member-announcements-aug-20-2020 for details. The ad hoc Committee has also made a video available that provides information on the market such as timelines, common practices, and general advice for heading out. A recording of the Committee's live 90-minute webinar held on September 2, which focused on Q&A with candidates and a panel of experienced economists from the academic, government, and private sectors, is now available at https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/communications.

The Annual AEA Officer Elections and proposed bylaw changes are still open for voting. If you have not voted and wish to participate, watch your postal mail for a paper ballot or your email for an electronic ballot, and return it before October 2, 2020.

The Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) seeks nominations for CSWEP's Carolyn Shaw Bell Award and Elaine Bennett Research Prize by September 15, 2020. For more information on these awards go to https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/cswep/about/awards/. Stay current on all things CSWEP at https://www.cswep.org. Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing info@cswep.org.  Follow us on twitter @AEACSWEP and look for our events at the upcoming ASSA meetings.

The AEA Summer Training Program & Scholarship Program promotes diversity by preparing talented undergraduates for doctoral programs in Economics and related disciplines. Hosted at Howard University, students receive eight weeks of intensive training in microeconomics, mathematics, econometrics, and research methods from prominent faculty and economists at the Federal Reserve Board. Students have the opportunity to earn up to 12 college credits, participate in experiential learning, and join inclusive mentoring groups. For more information and to apply, go to http://economics.howard.edu/aeasp. The anticipated application deadline is January 31, 2021.

AEA's Committee on the Status of LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Economics Profession (CSQIEP) announces four key initiatives. First, the committee has developed a mentoring program for LGBTQ+ identified economics PhD students and junior economists in academic and non-academic settings. To sign up as a mentor (you need not identify as LGBTQ) or a mentee (you do not have to be out to participate; mentoring matches are confidential), send an email expressing interest to lgbtq.plus.econ.mentoring@gmail.com. Second, the committee has launched a new Virtual Seminar on the Economics of LGBTQ+ Individuals on Zoom. Third, there will be a virtual panel focusing on LGBTQ+ issues and the job market in November. Finally, the committee will host two "Pink Papers" LGBTQ-focused research sessions at the virtual January 2021 AEA meeting. More details on all of these activities can be found at https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/aealgbtq or on Twitter @LGBTQ_Econ.

AEA's Best Practices for Economists: Building a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Productive Profession at https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/best-practices offers guidelines for professional activity in four areas: conducting research, serving as colleagues, working with students, and leading departments and workplaces. Click through to find practical suggestions for implementation, summaries of supporting research, and links to a multitude of online resources. Departments are strongly encouraged to post or link to these guidelines on their own websites.

Expanding Diversity in Undergraduate Classes with Advancements in (the) Teaching (of) Economics (EDUCATE) Workshop. The AEA Outreach Task Force and the Committee on Economic Education are pleased to announce the EDUCATE workshop to be held in conjunction with the AEA 2021 Continuing Education Program. The workshop will be conducted as a virtual, synchronous Zoom and Canvas supported course running January 5 - 7, 2021. This workshop will provide opportunities for instructors of introductory courses to take part in course design activities and experience pedagogical strategies that will engage all of the students they teach (preference will be given to those less than 6 years since PhD). The application is open now, with a rolling acceptance procedure starting on October 1, 2020 and continuing until all workshop slots are filled. Workshop details and the application portal are available at https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/economic-education/educate-workshop.

The Tenth Annual AEA Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education (CTREE) is June 2 - 4, 2021 at the DoubleTree by Hilton-Portland in Portland, Oregon. The conference is hosted by the AEA Committee on Economic Education in conjunction with the Journal of Economic Education. Plenary talks will be given by Betsey Stevenson (University of Michigan) and John Taylor (Stanford University). Submissions will be accepted via the AEA online submission system. Submissions may be of individual papers, complete sessions of three or four papers, workshops, or panels. Submissions of completed sessions are especially encouraged. The submission portal opened on September 1, and the submission deadline is December 1, 2020. The submission portal and general information is available at https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/economic-education/ctree/2021. Send questions about submissions to James Hornsten (j-hornsten@northwestern.edu).

Not making a submission this year but willing to serve in another capacity?  Please visit the submission portal to volunteer to chair a session or serve as a discussant.

New AEA Podcast! Listen now to the AEA's recently launched Research Highlights podcast featuring interviews with authors of current economics research published in AEA journals. Great for classroom instruction or to gain a fresh perspective on your own work. Visit http://www.aeaweb.org/research/podcasts, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts (Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or Google Podcasts.) You can find all Research Highlights from AEA journals at https://www.aeaweb.org/research.

The AEA Ombudsperson is available and ready to assist members. The AEA has engaged Leto Copeley to serve in this critical role. As an attorney, Copeley will maintain the information received with the utmost confidentiality possible. The ombudsperson is a key resource for addressing issues of harassment and discrimination throughout the profession. Any AEA member is eligible to consult with the ombudsperson on matters involving harassment or discrimination in a professional context. For more information, visit https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/aea-ombudsperson.

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