RSA - 2010 DRAFT Program Ready for Review

FROM:  Jack Selzer, RSA Conference Planner
TO:         RSA Conference Participants
DATE:    March 11, 2010

Since Michael Leff's death on February 5 I have been putting together the details of the program for RSA 2010 in Minneapolis. On the one hand, it's been a challenge:  filling in for Mike is an impossible task.  On the other hand, it's been a pleasure:  Mike's colleagues at Memphis, particularly Camisha Smith, Melody Lehn, and Mark Nagle, have been resourceful and completely dedicated to putting together the event that Mike would have wanted; and getting an advance peek at what conference presenters have put forward makes me confident that this will be RSA's finest meeting--truly an outstanding intellectual and professional event.  Thank you for the proposals you sent in.

So that you can make plans, travel and otherwise, for the conference, I wanted you to see a rough draft of how the program is shaping up.  Let me emphasize the words rough draft: some parts of the conference program are still under construction, and I'm certain that some errors have crept in here and there.  (Please let us know if you see one of those errors! To do so, email our conference assistant, Melody Lehn:  mlehn@memphis.edu.)

I am not prepared to show you a typed version of the program yet; typing it (after the kinks are worked out) is our next big job (one that I hope to complete for your inspection by the end of March). What I can offer you now is an indication of where your session has been placed on the program. If you  CLICK HERE, you will see the draft program. The program will open in PDF format; use the "Find"  function, located at the top of the page, to locate your name.  Be sure to search the entire spreadsheet if you expect to be scheduled on more than one session.

This way you will find the session to which you have been assigned, including the date and time of your session. You can also search for other names or session numbers if your curiosity strikes you. (Pay no attention to the notations about "not yet paid" because these are not necessarily accurate at all; and pay no attention to comments like "No chair" or "No respondent" because those are just aids to us in the next step of preparations and do not require action by you.)

Some important things to note and to keep in mind:

• Roughly 5% of you have not yet been assigned to a session. Anticipating a few late cancellations and dealing with some additional variables, I am reserving those fifty or so people for later assignment. Those of you in this predicament should know that I will place you on the program keeping in mind your travel preferences, if you stated any; nearly all of you will be scheduled on Saturday or Sunday; and you will be assigned a session by April 15 at the very latest. It is my goal to have a final program, including all assignments, available for you on March 31; let's see if we can meet that goal.
• Note well that the typical session is 90 minutes long (not 75) and includes four or five related presentations (not three-and occasionally six). Why? My aim is to ensure that each session draws a healthy audience, and so I have favored fewer (if longer) sessions over more (but shorter) ones. Presenters should typically plan on fifteen-minute presentations, not twenty-minute ones. I appreciate your flexibility: it permits me to accommodate the record attendance that will gather in Minneapolis in a space that has its limits.
• If you proposed a full panel, then of course all the participants are known to you-except that in some cases I have added a fourth paper (or even a fifth) to a proposed three-paper panel. If you proposed an individual paper and not a whole panel, then I placed you onto a session with others.
• The twenty or so people signed up for Professor Pernot's seminar are hereby advised that the seminar will almost certainly be meeting during sessions A, D, M, and O (see the schedule for times).
• The Research Network will meet during sessions E and F, beginning Saturday morning and continuing until 1:30 p.m.-over two and a half hours (box lunch provided).
• A Celebration of the life and career of Michael Leff will be a feature of the Reception scheduled for Saturday afternoon, after the SuperSessions conclude, about 5:45-7:30. Leah Ceccarelli is chairing a committee to plan this event, and Leah would like to hear from you if you are interested in contributing to the "Open Mike" (pun intended) portion of the Celebration, during which people can relate their stories and memories: write to her at cecc@u.washington.edu.
• I have not yet decided everything about audio visual / Internet support for sessions. A fact of life is that AV equipment and Internet connections are extremely expensive. That said, I will be trying to arrange AV support for some sessions (i.e., some meeting rooms). If things go as I expect, then I will advise you by April 1 about what you can expect; at this point, you should not assume that any AV support will be available. (Note that the Internet is available in guest rooms for about $10 a night-and that hotel common areas also have complimentary wireless access.
• Speaking of hotels: I encourage you to make your hotel reservation immediately, if you have not already done so. The conference hotel is already booked for Thursday night, the night before the conference begins. Note well: I am negotiating now to secure a good overflow hotel, with a good rate and convenient location, and expect have that information for you in a few days.

Let me conclude by asking for your patience and good will. I am aware that it would be best to have a finished and fully typed program for you to see right now, but I have chosen to offer at least this rough outline for your convenience at this time. As I say, my goal is to have a complete, more detailed, and more convenient to examine version for you by early April.

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Overview of conference schedule:

Friday, May 28

Morning:

RSA Board Meeting

12:15-1:45           Concurrent Sessions A (including first seminar meeting)

2:00-3:30              Concurrent Sessions B

3:45-5:15              Concurrent Sessions C

5:30                        Opening Plenary (Sharon Crowley):  Ballroom 1,2

6:30-8:00              Reception:  Ballroom 3, 4 

Saturday, May 29

8:30-10:00           Concurrent Sessions D (including Seminar Session #2)

10:15-11:45         Concurrent Sessions E (begin Research Network)

12:00-1:30           Concurrent Sessions F (complete Network)

1:45-3:15              Concurrent Sessions G

3:30-5:30              SuperSessions (session H)

5:45-7:30              Reception in Ballroom 3,4 

Sunday, May 30

8:30-10:00           Concurrent Sessions I

10:15-11:45         Concurrent Sessions J

12:00-2:00           Conference Luncheon

2:15-3:45              Concurrent Sessions K

4:00-5:30              Concurrent Sessions L

5:45-7:00              Concurrent Sessions M

7:15-8:30              Graduate Student Business Meeting and Social. 

8:30 or so             Reception for International Attenders, sponsored by RSA and ISHR. 

8:30-10:00           Session N 

Monday, May 31

8:00-9:30              Concurrent Sessions O (including Seminar Session #3)

9:45-11:15           Concurrent Sessions P

11:30-1:00           Concurrent Sessions Q

1:00        Conference ends