Safety is a core value of the American Chemical Society and their Divisions and as such the health and well-being of DivCHED members, the Chemical Education community, and our volunteers are paramount. After careful deliberation and discussion with the 2020 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) program committee and the DivCHED Biennial Conference Committee, the Executive Committee for the Division of Chemical Education has decided to cancel (terminate) the 2020 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education scheduled for July 18-23, 2020, at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR.

Our decision was based on several factors, including, but certainly not limited to:

• Current Executive order in the state of Oregon "to stay home" with no predetermined end date.
• Data from other countries with regard to how long restrictions were in place before being relaxed.
• Concern from anticipated attendees and presenters about their health and safety as well as their lack of ability to plan for travel using university funds.
• Several conflicting conferences and mitigating circumstances that made postponing not viable.

For workshop facilitators, paper/oral and poster presenters, please be patient as we work to find a way to acknowledge your valuable contributions to the field. The 2020 BCCE Program Chairs will need time to formulate and implement a plan, but updates will be provided on the 2020 BCCE website. It may take until April 20^th to contact you directly.

For sponsors and exhibitors, we appreciate your patience as we work through the logistics of terminating the conference. The 2020 BCCE Exhibit and Sponsor Chairs will be contacting our exhibitors and sponsors within ten days with options.

The Biennial Conference in Chemical Education is the premier conference for our Division so this was a difficult and unpleasant decision to make. However, we find ourselves in a time when difficult and unpleasant decisions must be made for the sake of public health and safety. We cannot begin to express our gratitude for the time and effort our volunteers and participants donated toward the success of this conference as we recognize it is not a trivial undertaking. We wish you all good health and look forward to seeing you in 2022 at Purdue University.

Sincerely,
Dawn Del Carlo, Chair, DivCHED
Stacey Lowery Bretz, Chair-Elect
Irv Levy, Past Chair

Oregon State University supports the decision the American Chemical Society and DivCHED has made to cancel the 2020 Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE), hosted at Oregon State University planned for July 18 to 24, 2020.

The difficult decision to cancel was made due to health concerns related to the spread of the COVID-19. Oregon State University is committed to the health and well-being of the communities we engage and serve, its students and employees. We strive to demonstrate a culture of care for all, particularly during times of uncertainty and disruption and recognize the importance of proactive planning and frequent communication to inform and provide for an effective response to an infectious disease outbreak.

Oregon State University continues to monitor the coronavirus COVID-19 global health situation. To facilitate the sharing of information we have added a link providing detailed and up-to-date coronavirus information. We share this news to indicate that prudent and significant university-wide action is underway.

Should you have questions about the cancellation of BCCE 2020, please contact Conference Services at [email protected]. We thank you in advance for your patience during a time of high communications volume with our team.