Kansas State University

Call for proposals for K-State Distinguished Lecturers Series

Submitted by Gerry Snyder

The K-State Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, through the K-State Distinguished Lecturers Committee, invites proposals to bring distinguished lecturers to speak at K-State via a highly visible platform.

Distinguished lecturers are those who have distinguished themselves nationally and/or internationally with significant accomplishments in their field of expertise — e.g., internationally prominent researchers and scholars, distinguished public officials, and creative artists. Requests for funding for distinguished lecturers should constitute a unique opportunity to host speakers of prominence and not be part of an existing lecture series.

The Office of the Provost has provided limited funding to support awards for the 2019 semester. These funds can be used to cover an honorarium, travel and lodging expenses for the speaker, as well as other costs associated with publicizing the lecture. Matching funds are permitted and encouraged to facilitate the event, but not a requirement of consideration from the K-State Distinguished Lecturers Committee.

All divisions and units of K-State are eligible to submit a proposal. The committee is looking for presentations with a reasonably wide scope of interest that crosses academic disciplines. Departments/units are encouraged to collaborate to jointly invite and sponsor a speaker.

Departments/units will be responsible for making all arrangements for the lecture and visit — including travel, lodging, processing honorarium, publicizing the event, and securing the venue for the lecture.

Proposals must include the following:

1. Topic of the proposed lecture and intended audiences.
2. Statement of significance of the proposed lecture to the sponsoring units and the campus community.
3. Curriculum vitae or background history of the proposed lecturer.
4. Itemized budget that includes expenditures by category for publicity, travel/lodging and honorarium; and revenue by source indicating the portion sought from K-State Distinguished Lecturers Series and the portion pledged by sponsoring units.
5. Accompanying letter(s) of commitment from the unit(s).
6. Detailed publicity plan.

The lecture must be scheduled during spring 2019. Proposal submissions must be received by Oct. 31, 2018. Proposals received after the deadline may be considered to the extent funds remain available.

Submit proposals electronically in one PDF document file to committee chair Gerry Snyder at gsnyder@k-state.edu and copy Craig Bourne in the provost's office (cbourne@k-state.edu). For further information, please visit the Distinguished Lecturers Series website or contact Snyder.