April showers are here, and I know the May flowers are coming because my allergies are in full swing! This week, I purchased my flights for the SIGUCCS 2019 Annual Conference and made my hotel reservations. The first draft of our conference papers is due soon – we will be together in NOLA before you know it!
The Executive Committee (EC) has been springing forward on many activities as well.
- Saving and archiving outdated web information. In particular, we are archiving old conference websites (https://siguccs.org/wp/attend/past-conferences/). They will be removed at the end of May, and while the EC is saving the data it will not be available on our website.
- Dan Herrick and I attended the spring SGB meeting in Chicago. (See our previous article: https://siguccs.org/wp/2019/04/siguccs-leaders-attend-acm-meeting/)
- One of the most notable takeaways from the meeting was SIGACCESS’s Accessible Conference Guide. If you are interested in this topic, please contact a member of the EC!
- Several SIGUCCS Committees are active this time of year, most noticeably our Awards Committees. Nominate a colleague or a communication project at https://siguccs.org/wp/participate/siguccs-awards/
- SIGUCCS 2020 site selection and leadership planning are underway. We are pulling together the details for our 2020 annual conference. If you would like to participate, please contact a member of the EC.

Along the lines of accessibility at conferences, I recently read an article on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Website entitled “A Note From Your Colleagues With Hearing Loss: Just Use A Microphone Already“. In December 2018, I was diagnosed with mild hearing loss. While it’s not to the point where I must wear hearing aids, I have been listening more carefully in all aspects of my daily life. I have also been speaking up when I cannot hear clearly. I’m committing to using a microphone whenever I speak at SIGUCCS 2019, and I hope you will too!
If you are interested in reading the details of our activity in the Executive Committee’s meeting minutes, they are posted online: Executive Committee Meeting Minutes. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or suggestions – or would like to volunteer your talents and experience with us for SIGUCCS!