Dear IARPT members:

One of the distinctive hallmarks of IARPT is the face-to-face fellowship and intellectual exchange we enjoy in remarkable settings. We do not wish to compromise any of that this year.

COVID-19 has presented a unique public health challenge that requires constant monitoring. Information about the spread of COVID-19, federal and state guidelines, and other factors beyond our control are evolving and surfacing at a breakneck pace right now.

In this environment, the Board of Governors of IARPT has made the decision to wait and see. Our conference is now three months away. We will make an assessment again in a few weeks, and then again on May 15 in the hope that circumstances will enable us to convene June 15-20, 2020 in Saint Paul. Some of you have already purchased airlines tickets, and others are waiting to hear or have already heard about scholarship assistance.  We are extending the deadline for applications for a Creighton Peden Scholarship until May 15.  You do not need to wait until then to make reservations since most airlines are currently displaying the kind of flexibility they should always show, making refunds or re-bookings available if cancellation is necessary.

In the meantime, Andrew Irvine and Austin Roberts are putting together a stimulating program, and local hosts Bill Hart and Demian Wheeler have done an excellent job in lining up the venues in which we can comfortably talk, argue, shout, agree and disagree, eat and drink, be transported, and yes, sleep.  

Please check the website (iarpt.org) for further updates.

I encourage you all to remain vigilant, agile, and optimistic despite the unknowns associated with this pandemic.

Nancy Frankenberry for the Board of Governors

Nancy K. Frankenberry
John Phillips Professor in Religion Emeritus, Dartmouth College
President, Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought (2016-2020)