Harpur College Dean’s Conference Funding

Harpur College Dean’s Conference Funding

Format: Submit materials electronically via email (in PDF format) to Diane Horvath (dmhorv@binghamton.edu).

Proposals for Conference Funding are accepted fall and spring semesters. For 2024 the deadlines are March 8 and October 18


Please submit in advance of the deadline, if possible.

Purpose

This award is intended to support on-campus and department-hosted regional/national conferences. The award can provide a portion of the costs necessary to host a conference or workshop. The award is not intended to fund a departmental seminar/talk series—rather, the purpose of this award is to fund events that elevate our regional/national reputation that comes hosting a conference or workshop.

Eligibility

Proposals are welcome from all departments and programs. Proposals must include a plan for cost-sharing including potential fees charged to participants as well as COVID contingencies.

Award Amount

Applicants may request up to $3,000. Matching funds from the departments or other sources are strongly encouraged.

Application Materials

All materials must be submitted electronically (in a single file PDF format). This file must include:

  1. A description of the conference (about 500 words) that explains:
    • The scope, theme, and intellectual merit of the conference;
    • Departments or programs across the college that benefit from the hosting of this conference or workshop;
    • How the conference will contribute to graduate student education; Inclusion of related undergraduate student programming.

  2. biography or abbreviated (one page) curriculum vitae for each potential hosted speaker. We recognize that it is not possible to ensure the participation of any particular speaker.

  3. A plan for marketing and ensuring participation in the conference. Provide specific information for how the events will be marketed to Harpur faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates. 

  4. A COVID-19 contingency plan. Please describe your plan for communicating and ensuring compliance with campus COVID guidance. Also, include a contingency plan if travel or in-person events are not allowed due to a pandemic response (i.e., will you go online? Will there be a hybrid option for travelers who cannot make it to campus, etc.)

  5. A one-page budget. The budget should include an estimate of how funds will be divided to cover

    • transportation costs (plane ticket or mileage),
    • lodging costs,
    • honoraria (if applicable), and 
    • meal costs for speakers/participants, (Please note that we cannot reimburse for receptions or similar group expenses)
    • Information on matching funds that the involved programs and departments will commit to the series.

Under separate cover, the participating department’s chair(s) and program director(s) must submit letters of support for the conference. Support should include a recognition of departmental support for the administrative demands of these events.  This letter should be submitted by email to Diane Horvath (dmhorv@binghamton.edu) and has the same submission deadline.

Review

All proposals will be evaluated by Harpur’s Internal Awards Committee, which will make funding recommendations to the Harpur College Dean.

The committees will consider:

  • the coherence and intellectual merit of the proposed conference; 
  • the size and scope of the participation and/or expected audience;
  • the commitment of matching funds;
  • contingency planning;
  • whether the involved departments or programs have received support for a conference in the past;
  • documentation about the success of previously funded conference events. 

Notification

We expect to notify awardees by early November.

Report

For all funded conferences, a written report on the activities, including a brief overview, an assessment of its success, and a description of how the budget was spent is due in the Harpur Dean’s office at the end of the semester following the proposed event.

Unexpended portions of the award do not roll over to the next academic year (though you would be eligible to reapply the following year if your event has to be shifted). 

Questions