The mission of the Biever series is to enrich the intellectual and cultural life of students, faculty and the community at large by bringing individuals to campus who are distinguished in their respective fields. Proposals may only be submitted by full-time Loyola faculty. Major grants are approved in the spring (generally mid-April) for presentations the following academic year. Please watch the campus-wide emails for a finalized date. Approximately one-quarter of the year's budget will be reserved for mini-grants ($500 or less) and proposals for these monies will be due at the end of the third week of classes each semester for presentations during that same academic semester.
The committee encourages proposals that relate to cultural diversity. We also feel that many of the most successful speakers are those whose work relates directly to courses and academic activities on campus. We tend to favor events that will have an impact on the greatest number of people. It is helpful if this is reflected in your publicity plan. We strongly suggest that faculty build into their proposals class visits, faculty interaction or additional small group meetings beyond the actual speech or event scheduled. However, the Biever series is not intended to be simply a way to provide enrichment for a specific class or group on campus.
Submit a Proposal for Funding for the Biever Guest Lecture Series »
Modestly priced proposals have a better chance of being funded than high budget events. All honoraria should be justified and under $1000.00. To give hosts a sense of the overall costs associated with these talks, during the 2011-2012 academic year, proposals funded ranged between $720 and $4100, with most of them being under $2000. The committee urges faculty to think of creative ways of co-sponsoring events. Some events, for instance, had two or more co-sponsors providing help and financing. Besides off-campus groups that might help, consider working through student groups, the SGA, and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities mini-grant program. We also recommend that faculty contact the Office of Grants and Research, x7244, for ideas of organizations and sources for additional support and financing. Please indicate on your proposal if your event is going to be co-sponsored with other groups.
Try for the best economy class airfare ticket prices and reasonable hotel rates if you do not have the guest staying in a home (which many do!). Remember that the Dominican Conference Center has comfortable, inexpensively priced rooms. Any hotel on St. Charles Avenue should give a Loyola discount.
Printing, if at all possible, should go through the Twomey Print Shop or Campus Central Reproduction. Departments using the Twomey Print Shop should type the transfer form and forward it to Adrienne Blanco, Academic Affairs Budget Manager, at adnorfle@loyno.edu, for insertion of the new Biever account number and for approval by the Chair. DO NOT USE THE DEPARTMENT BUDGET NUMBER.
Any foreign speaker must have special arrangements in order to receive an honorarium and/or direct reimbursement. You will need to determine the appropriate arrangements by talking with Debbie Danna (504) 864-7550 before bringing in a foreign speaker. This should be done while the lecture is in the planning stages, rather than just before the speaker’s appearance.
IMPORTANT: the faculty sponsor is responsible for all aspects of planning and carrying out the event. This includes publicity (flyers, posters, Loyola Today, Maroon, Times Picayune, TV, etc.), room reservation, Campus Security (if required), catering, travel, and lodging arrangements.
Please check the university calendar to see if your event conflicts with other events.
Make sure your proposal is well documented. It is very helpful to the committee if you attach specific information about the speaker: resumes, press articles, reviews, etc. These help us better understand the candidate's strengths.
Completed forms will automatically be submitted to the chair: Daniel D'Amico ddamico@loyno.edu. If, for some reason, you do not also receive a copy of your proposal, you can contact Tarana with the Center for Faculty Innovation at lawrence@loyno.edu or at extension 7055.