College of Arts & Sciences

Guidelines for Harriet Elliott Lectures
(adopted May 18, 2005)

1. The responsibility for organizing the Lectures will be vested in the Harriet Elliott Lectures Steering Committee. The Committee shall consist of a representative from each of the social and behavioral sciences departments. The chair of the Steering Committee shall be elected by the committee's membership and serve a single two year term. An Associate Dean from the College will serve as an ex officio member of the committee and assist the chair in convening the committee at least once each semester to ensure planning and continuity in operations.
2. Specific responsibility for the Lectures will rotate among the social and behavioral science departments, with the sequence being confirmed at least 2-3 years in advance so that each department knows a year or two ahead when it will be their turn.
3. It is the host department's responsibility to propose a theme or topic for the Lectures that will be reviewed and approved by the Harriet Elliott Lectures Steering Committee. The entire committee should provide input on the theme or topic and may have recommendations for speakers. The entire committee should be regularly apprised of planning for the Lectures and involved in their execution.
4. The Head of the department that is organizing the Lectures and the department's representative on the Steering Committee—serve as co-chairs of the planning committee and take responsibility for arranging meetings and coordinating the overall planning and scheduling for the Lectures using whatever mechanism is appropriate to the department. It is strongly recommended that students from the host department be involved as much as possible in the planning and execution of the Lectures. Regular communication should be maintained between the host department's planning committee and the Steering Committee.
5. Although the format of the Lectures can vary from year to year, there must be at least one public lecture designed to appeal to the broader University and Greensboro community. For example a program that includes a public lecture on Thursday evening, with other activities (panel discussions, workshops, etc.) scheduled the following day has, in the past, worked quite well. Because the most desirable rooms on campus are typically reserved long in advance, dates for Lectures should be decided at least 10 months in advance, and preferably more.
6. An invitation should be extended to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences to provide greetings/welcoming remarks for the opening of the Lectures. Formal invitations to the Lectures should he sent to the upper Administration.
7. Strong efforts should be made to broadly promote the Lectures to the campus and community. University Relations (News Service) should be contacted ASAP to generate press releases, public service announcements, and publicize the Lectures in the Campus Weekly and the local newspaper's Campus Notebook section. The College Office can provide assistance to the planning committee in sending out email notices and developing poster, flyers, programs etc. Steering Committee members should encourage faculty in their home departments to announce the Lectures in their classes and, whenever appropriate, connect the Lectures to course content and requirements.
8. The Lectures are funded by a generous endowment administered through the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Enough funds are typically available to pay substantial honoraria for well-known speakers. The approximate amount of income available to support the Lectures will be made available to the committee in the spring preceding the academic year in which the Lectures will occur. Funds cannot be committed to speakers until appropriate consultations have occurred with the Steering Committee and College Office. Guidance in developing and processing the paper-work to spend the funds will be provided by the College Office.