Cancellation Message

Dear CMHE Community,

The Executive Committee of the CMHE Board, with the full Board's approval, decided this week to cancel the 2012 CMHE Symposium, intended to be held on the campus of Saint Joseph College, Connecticut this June.
 
In making this decision, the Board considered the small number of paper proposals submitted as well as the lack of outside funding, both in the form of grants as well as in sponsorships. To account for this lack of outside support as well as the small number of presenters, the registration fee charged to cover costs would be high--probably in the area of $425. We know that this high cost would discourage attendance, and the Conference does not have the extra funds at present to subsidize the endeavor.
 
I would like to thank Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid and her very professional staff at Saint Joseph College--they have been a joy with whom to work, and I am most grateful to them and to Dr. Reid for agreeing to host this event on the beautiful Saint Joseph College, CT campus.

I am also grateful to the Symposium Planning Committee members who began meeting with me by phone early last spring to focus the content of the Symposium, draft the call for papers, and suggest myriad ways of encouraging participation. The creativity and talent of our Mercy higher education community still amazes me.
 
The CMHE Board and the Presidents Council will be rethinking the Symposium and its intended goals and considering other ways of inviting all to come together on a biennial basis. We hope to continue to offer the CMHE Leadership Medal and the Frances Warde Award, perhaps at this year's Mission Formation Program for senior leaders, to be held in June. More details will follow in the coming months.
 
I wish to thank those who indicated interest in and support for this Symposium. Our hope is to publish the solid papers already submitted, perhaps through the ACCU Journal or in some other peer-reviewed publication.
 
With my thanks and best wishes for the new year,

Moya K. Dittmeier, EdD
Executive Director
Conference for Mercy Higher Education
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 934
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Ph:  301-587-8989   Fax: 301-587-0077
www.mercyhighered.org