COVID-19 and Academia: Considering the Future of Academic Conferencing

Abstract

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to mitigate its spread have presented numerous challenges for academia. Conferences are one challenge for academia in a COVID-19 environment. The present study discusses the purpose of academic conferences and provides a case study of a virtual conference in criminology and criminal justice (CCJ) that occurred in November 2020. We extracted data from the virtual conference program, from data publicly available through CrimCon, and from a sample of 53 of the 96 panels that occurred. Using these data, we present information about conference attendance and participation. We found that there were 558 unique presenters across 318 presentations and roundtable discussions, and a total of 1,629 unique attendees over the course of the three conference days. While virtual conferencing solves some problems, it presents unique others. Important comparisons between virtual conferencing and in-person conferencing are provided.