Here's a short update on my earlier comment on Meta regarding the future of the site, including our graduation…
The SE team decided, a few months ago, that Academia Stack Exchange is ready for graduation. This is based on numerical indicators (activity, traffic, number of frequent users, etc.), on the results of our earlier site evaluation (and by the way, please participate in the latest one, which is still open at the time I write this).
Despite this good news, there is somewhat of a queue at the “site design” stage. Progress there is somewhat slow, but there is progress: new sites have been released recently (The Workplace and Money), and some sites designs have been drafted (see Graphics Design).
I am told that the design team has begun seriously looking at Academia. While no commitment can be made, we're looking at a few weeks before seeing their proposal for our new identity.
