Profs and Pints has expanded online to further democratize access to higher learning and provide people access to hiqh-quality scholarly talks while social distancing. See listings of talks that you can watch from home on the Online Talks page.
Profs and Pints is suspending its staging of live talks effective March 12, 2020 in response to the current coronavirus crisis.
I am sorry to announce that I am suspending the staging of talks in response to the public-health threat posed by the Covid-19 coronavirus and the need to contain its spread. All future talks scheduled for March and April have been cancelled, and anyone who has purchased a ticket will soon be receiving a refund through Brown Paper Tickets.
I was hesitant to take this step this because I believe deeply in the social mission of my company and hate to take potential earnings away from the bartenders and servers at my venues, who themselves have health-care costs and other bills to worry about. However, several fast-moving developments over the last 48 hours have pushed things beyond the tipping point. They were:
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A District of Columbia government state of emergency declaration late yesterday advising against gatherings of over 1,000 and discouraging any sort of public gathering.
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Similar advisories in other cities and the inescapable conclusion they were about to become more common.
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Several cancellations by speakers I had lined up for the coming week, including some from local institutions that have just decided to forbid faculty members from engaging in such activities, gutting my talent pool.
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A growing body of advisories from authoritative sources urging everyone out there to avoid any public events.
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Demands from customers for ticket refunds in response to news about coronavirus broadcast just before events, after it had become impossible to obtain refunds through Brown Paper Tickets.
Perhaps most fundamentally, I was finding it impossible to reconcile my desire to run a company with a social mission with the possibility that doing so could endanger public health.
Fortunately my venues, hosts, and Brown Paper Tickets have all been incredibly understanding and helpful.
It is hard to tell when I will be able to resume talks given what remains unknown about the virus and its spread and about the likelihood of finding a vaccine or remedy any time soon. Fortunately my company's fixed expenses are extremely low, so it won't be hard for me to simply keep the company dormant until this threat is behind us. You'll be among the first to know when I get the company back into gear.
In the meantime, stay healthy and never stop learning. If you do go out, please tip well, as a lot of people in the service industry will be going through hard times.
“There's no question of heroism in all this. It's a matter of common decency. That's an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is — common decency.”
from The Plague by Albert Camus.
Regards,
Peter Schmidt
Founder and CEO
Profs and Pints
Great news: Profs and Pints has expanded to Chicago,
Dallas, Nashville, and Philadelphia, as well as within Washington D.C., through a collaboration with the national Cambria Hotel brand!
Along with staging events at Cambria Hotels in each city, Profs and Pints will be expanding to other venues in those metropolitan areas. Please spread the word to help Profs and Pints fulfill its mission of democratizing access to higher learning and providing scholars with new audiences.
Links to more information on Profs and Pints
events in each city:
Washington DC
Dallas
Nashville
Philadelphia
Chicago
Current and former college faculty members who are interested in giving Profs and Pints talks or workshops can find more information on the presenters page.
Owners or managers of potential Profs and Pints venues can find more information here.
Check out media coverage of Profs and Pints and see what all the buzz is about! Click the links here to see stories by the Washington Post, Washingtonian magazine, Philadelphia's WHYY radio,
KERA public radio in Dallas, the Northwest Courier, and the student newspapers at Catholic University, DePaul University, and George Washington University.
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Support Profs and Pints through Patreon and get yourself or loved ones placed on guest lists for talks.
Profs and Pints talks represent a great way to introduce young people to various academic fields. Please note, however, that all talks are delivered on an adult level and may feature mature content. Unless otherwise stated in event descriptions, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
A note from Profs and Pints CEO Peter Schmidt about diversity among presenters:
In my recruitment of speakers I am committed to diversity in all of its forms, including gender, race, and ideological orientation. I encourage any college faculty member interested in being featured by Profs and Pints to click this link for important background on the lectures and workshops that Profs and Pints offers and to email profsandpints@hotmail.com for additional information on how to apply.