Lecture Fund Guidelines
Academic lectures supported by the Office of Dean of the Faculty Guidelines Fall 2025/Spring 2026
The overarching purpose of Dean-sponsored lectures is to promote a lively campus culture of intellectual and creative exchange featuring events of outstanding interest that are appealing and accessible to a wide spectrum of the Vassar community. Highest priority for funding will go to events most in accord with this purpose.
Email approval of funding from a member of the Dean of the Faculty office is required before making commitments to speakers or arrangements for publicity.
Guidelines
- The Dean’s office supports 12 lecture events per semester.
- The Dean’s office will not support more than one event in a single day or more than two events in a single week.
- Considerations weighing in favor of a proposal:
- Eminence and excellence of proposed speaker
- Broad appeal and multiple confirmed co-sponsors (co-sponsor financial contribution is not necessary but is helpful)
- Opportunities for speaker to interact informally with students and faculty outside the immediate context of the lecture
- Timely submission of Fall proposals are due May 30, 2025 and Spring proposals are due November 7, 2025
Proposals received on time will receive priority consideration. If slots remain available after these deadlines, they will be considered for the Fall until September 26, 2025 and for the Spring until February 20, 2026. These are firm and final deadlines - Balance and equity - Lectures funded by DoF, as a whole, should cover a wide range of disciplines and topics. Please note: Departments or programs with endowed lecture funds should draw on those funds before seeking additional funding from the DoF office
- In order to make funds available to the full range of departments and programs, DoF will not ordinarily sponsor more than two lectures from a single department per semester
- In order to make funds available to the full range of departments and programs, DoF will not ordinarily sponsor more than two lectures from a single department per semester
- Guidelines on honoraria:
- High-profile speaker who is represented by an agency and is expected to attract a large campus audience. The agency will set the fee, although this is often negotiable.
- Please note: These events typically require a speaker’s agreement. Vassar has a standard agreement. If the speaker or speaker agent prefers to use their own agreement, it will need to be reviewed by Vassar’s General Counsel. Upon finalization, the agreement needs to be signed by the Dean or Associate Dean of the Faculty
- For other speakers: ordinarily range from $300 to $2,000.
- High-profile speaker who is represented by an agency and is expected to attract a large campus audience. The agency will set the fee, although this is often negotiable.
- Lodging and transportation:
- Transportation expenses should include round-trip airfare, tolls, and ground transportation at current IRS Mileage rates (70 cents per mile for car)
- Lodging should be at Alumnae House (contact for pricing) or at The Heartwood at Vassar (contact for pricing)
- Hospitality may include modest meal expenses for the guest and selected members of the Vassar campus community. Gatherings should be small enough, generally up to six individuals, including the speaker, to allow everyone to interact informally with the guest. Suggested budget guidelines: $30 per person for lunches, $50 per person for dinners
Lectures should ordinarily take place at 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at times with few or no conflicting or contiguous public events on the campus calendar. Lectures scheduled for regular class meeting times are ineligible for lecture funding, although faculty may contact the Dean’s office for modest honoraria, travel, and hospitality amounts for classroom visitors. Please do not request this through the Lecture Funding Google Form.
- Proposals should address the considerations above and accompany the “Request for Lecture Funds” Google Form. Do not email your request as it will not be considered until the Google Form is filled out. Email approval of funding from a member of the Dean of the Faculty office is required before making commitments to speakers or arrangements for publicity
- Once your request has been approved, worktags will be made available to you and your office support staff member. For more information, visit the Lecture Funding: Accessing the Funds website
- If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Amy Jo Arndt at aarndt@vassar.edu