October 30, 2025

Late October newsletter

This is the MAPACA Newsletter for late October. Our next Annual Conference will take place November 6-8 in Philadelphia, PA. 

In this newsletter, we have:

• MAPACA2025 Annual Conference news - Day passes and events information

• Conference schedule and the Personal schedule
• BYOL (bring your own lanyard)
• COVID statement
• MAPACA merch
• Important dates

#MAPACA2025 conference news

Day passes

Single-day passes (for non-presenting attendees only) are available and include all events on that day.

Prices are:

• $75 for Thursday including the Awards Reception
• $85 for Friday including the reception and Divine Impact Award with Cherri Gregg
• $70 for Saturday including the Crash Course with refreshments

Note: if attending all 3 days it’s more cost effective to pay for registration than to purchase 3 day passes.

Events

2025 Awards Reception - Thursday, November 6 from 6:30-8

Join us as we present the Lorance Award, Donald Award, and Walden Prize at the Reception and Annual meeting on Thursday, November 6, from 6:30-8.

Celebrate our award winners and enjoy a reception and cash bar. 

2025 Divine Impact Award with winner Cherri Gregg - Friday, November 7, 6-8:30

The winner of the 2025 Divine Impact Award (DIA) is Cherri Gregg! We invite you to celebrate at the DIA Reception on Friday, November 7, 6-8:30.

There will be a discussion with Cherri Gregg, followed by a Q&A session where the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions. You can also submit questions in advance by emailing awards@mapaca.net. A reception and cash bar will accompany this event.

Graduate Student Gathering - Friday, November 7, 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Calling all graduate students! The Graduate Student Gathering is a relaxed meet-up with your fellow graduate students. Light refreshments will be served.

Crash Course - Saturday, November 8, 12:15 pm to 1:45 pm

The high-density Crash Course features 5-minute micro-presentations about current popular culture topics. Always a conference favorite! Light refreshments will be served!

Conference schedule information

The schedule is live!

Personal schedule

The new MAPACA.net website makes it easy to keep track of your busy schedule! Here’s how you can add sessions to your Personal Schedule:

Click on the “Browse the schedule” button on MAPACA.net. On the Schedule of the 2025 Annual Conference page, click on a “Browse by day” or “Browse by area” link. As you scroll through the available sessions, you’ll find an “Add to personal schedule” button. Selecting this button will add the session to the Personal schedule section on the right-hand side of your Schedule of the 2025 Annual Conference page. This allows you to keep track of the conference sessions that interest you. You must be logged in to view the schedule or to add a session to your Personal Schedule.

BYOL (bring your own lanyard)

Bring your favorite lanyard to use at the conference. Not only will your lanyard help reduce waste, but it will also be a stylish fashion accessory and conversation starter! Also, we will have spots to recycle your badge holders at the end of the conference. 

COVID statement

We look forward to welcoming you #MAPACA2025 this November. At this time, our conference will be mask-encouraged to support our immunocompromised community members. Remember, the proper wearing of a mask that covers your nose and mouth helps prevent community spread and protects everyone, especially immunocompromised colleagues. We will have masks and hand sanitizer available at the conference. 

Before the conference, consider getting a vaccine or booster for COVID-19 or other seasonal diseases, such as the flu. Keeping up to date with vaccines, in line with public health and your doctor's guidance, further supports our community.

Finally, we are asking you to do your part in contributing to the health and well-being of your fellow MAPACA attendees. If you feel like you have a cold coming on, your allergies are really hitting you hard, or you feel otherwise symptomatic, test, don’t guess, or stay at home to help protect the community.

MAPACA merch

Order today to get your MAPACA merch in time for #MAPACA2025

Our Redbubble store has a number of fun, nerdy, pop-culture-based designs for you to rep your love of the Mid-Atlantic’s best conference! Order now to be sure to get your merch before the conference in November.

The easiest way to find something just for you is to shop by design. Once you pick a design, scroll down to “Shop Products” and find t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, totes, hats, buttons, and more! Note that not all designs are available on all products if the design is not suitable to printing on the offerings from Redbubble.

Important dates

• November 6-8, 2025: MAPACA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA