Seminar News
Announcements from the Office
The Leonard Hastings Schoff Memorial Lecture Series was established in collaboration with Columbia University Press in 1993. With few exceptions, each fall, a speaker is invited to give a series of three consecutive lectures. These lectures become the manuscript for a book then published by Columbia University Press as part of the Leonard Hastings Schoff Lectures series.
Lectures are free and open to the public. Registration required for campus access.
The 2026 General Meeting will be held over Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 from 4:00-5:00 pm.
End-of-Year Reminders for Chairs
Planning for the academic year 2026-2027 is underway.
The University Seminars Administrative Portal is the hub for all seminar policies, forms and instructions. The End-of-Year Tasks and Planning Information page in the Administrative Portal contains all of the documents and instructions you need to plan the upcoming year.
RAPPORTEURS AND NEW ACADEMIC YEAR PLANNING
Now is a good time to check in with your rapporteur to confirm they will continue next academic year. If you need to hire a new rapporteur, review the New Rapporteur Hiring Guidelines in the Administrative Portal. If you need the office to post the position online, email (univ.seminars@columbia.edu).
All seminars must submit a New Academic Year Planning Form on or before June 30, 2026. The earlier the better. This form communicates essential information about your seminar to the office. All seminars are required to submit a planning form, even if they will not meet in Faculty House.
The information contained in the New Academic Year Planning Form will be published on the individual seminar web page will be published on the seminar’s individual web page. Please help us keep the web schedules up to date by providing as much information as possible as soon as possible. Please review your seminar’s page throughout the semester to ensure the information is accurate.
TRAVEL FUNDING
The deadline for travel funding requests is June 30, 2026.
Travel funding is not guaranteed and must be approved before inviting traveling speakers.
If a seminar wishes to invite a guest speaker who will require travel funding, the chair must first submit a Travel Fund Request Form. Funding is very limited. Seminars are strongly encouraged to seek funding from other sources and co-sponsorship is highly recommended. In the 2026-2027 year, seminars may not request funding for more than three (3) guest speakers who require travel funds to present at a regular seminar meeting. (If funds remain after the deadline, we will consider additional travel funding requests). The highest priority will be given to seminars which have used the least funding in the past.
Contact Susan Boynton (slb184@columbia.edu) for guidance on co-sponsorship. The office can provide advice on budget planning, but please make sure to use the resources in the Administrative Portal.
Travel budget request deadlines enable the office to work more effectively and purchase discounted fares. To avoid overspending, it is essential that chairs clearly communicate approved expenses (flight, hotel) with invitees. Also review travel coverage limitations in the Guest Speaker Travel Fund Requests page in the Administrative Portal.
CHAIR ELECTIONS
Each year, elections must be held to select new seminar chairs or reelect current and continuing seminar chairs. Elections can be conducted in-person at a regular seminar meeting or over email by the rapporteur. It is crucial to convey to the office if there is a change of chair, as soon as possible. Review Chair Duties & Responsibilities in the Administrative Portal for information on chair elections. Incoming chairs for 2026-2027 must be named in the New Academic Year Planning Form. The deadline is June 30, 2026.
NEW CHAIR MEETINGS
All incoming chairs must meet with the director and attend an orientation. For an orientation, contact Pamela Guardia (pamela.guardia@columbia.edu) for available dates.
ANNUAL REPORT: DIRECTORY OF SEMINARS, SPEAKERS, & TOPICS
Seminar chairs from academic year 2025-2026 are responsible for reviewing their seminars’ pages in the Annual Report: Directory of Seminars, Speakers, & Topics and submitting either corrections or confirmations, even if they are no longer seminar chairs. Look for an email from (seminars.directory@gmail.com) in August. Please respond promptly.
DEADLINES FOR CONFERENCE AND PUBLICATION FUNDING
Please plan ahead. Applications for conference funding and publication subventions are reviewed twice a year. The deadlines are September 15, 2026, and March 15, 2027. Applications are only accepted through Submittable.
THE GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING
The meeting will be held over Zoom on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 from 4:00-5:00 pm. Attendance by a chair or representative member is required. Rapporteurs may not serve as seminar representatives.
Do not plan seminar meetings on the same day and time. They will not be scheduled on that day.
End-of-Year Reminders for Rapporteurs
TIMESHEET DEADLINE
Make sure to submit all outstanding minutes and final timesheets by June 1, 2026. If you have any time or pay-related issues, contact Gesenia Alvarez-Lauzaskas (ga2030@columbia.edu).
MINUTES DEADLINE
Make sure to check Submittable for any submissions marked “open for edits” and submit all outstanding and corrected minutes by June 1, 2026. Please remember that minutes are not considered complete until they are accepted. If you have any questions regarding meeting documentation submissions, contact Summer Hart (sh3040@columbia.edu).
REVIEW SEMINAR WEBPAGE AND MEETING INFORMATION DEADLINE
Please review your seminar’s webpage for errors or missing information about your seminar meetings (title of presentation; meeting date; name and affiliation of speaker/s, respondent/s, discussant/s) by June 1, 2026. Contact Gary Mayta (gm2965@columbia.edu) to provide missing information and report any corrections or updates.
NEW ACADEMIC YEAR PLANNING
Communicate to the seminar chair and The University Seminars office (univ.seminars@columbia.edu) your intention to stay on or to resign from rapporteur duties by May 1, 2026 in preparation for the next academic year.
If you will continue working with your seminar this upcoming academic year, refer to the calendars below when planning your new seminar meetings.
* If you will not continue working with your seminar, please make sure to hand over the seminar mailing list and any relevant seminar related documentation to the seminar chair or new rapporteur.
COMMUNICATE WITH US
If you are having difficulty or need assistance or advice, make an appointment with a member of our team. We can meet over zoom to answer your questions or provide seminar-related guidance. Email us to make an appointment. The office is available to answer questions or direct you to the information you need through the summer months. Please contact us (univ.seminars@columbia.edu) with any questions.