Guest Speakers
Selection Process and Funding
Each year, the chair solicits recommendations from among all faculty for guest speakers to invite to give lectures on campus. Then the Guest Speakers Committee chooses speakers to recommend to the Departmental Funds Committee for funding, and the faculty member who initially proposed the speaker (the “sponsor”) is notified. The sponsor then proposes a budget to cover the expenses of the visit. The recommendations of the Guest Speakers Committee are considered, along with the proposed budgets, by the Departmental Funds Committee, which may provide full or partial funding to bring the speaker to campus.
In all cases, additional monies should be sought from related departments and other university sources. If three or more academic units commit funds, then you as sponsor of the speaker can apply to Horizons of Knowledge for additional support (see http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/download/hokguideline.pdf
and http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/download/hokapplication.doc).
In planning your budget for the guest speaker, please keep the following approximate amounts in mind:
Hotel, 1 night at Grant Street Inn : $104
Limo, from Indianapolis airport, round trip: $109
Food (guest plus colleagues): Breakfast $20 (but included with Grant St. Inn price), Lunch $65 (Tudor Room with 4 grad students), and Dinner $150 (4 people total)
Honoraria: Depending on rank and reputation of speaker, between $300-$500
Reception: $100-$150
Please note that food expenses are strictly controlled through the university’s hospitality policy. For meals, only the visitor’s meal can be paid through an IU account. Receptions can be paid for with IU funds. In no case can alcoholic beverages be paid with IU funds. The Department uses the Mary-Margaret Barr Koon or the Gertrude F. Weathers funds to support most guest speakers, and these funds are with the IU Foundation and therefore don’t have to comply with the IU hospitality policy.
Planning the Visitor’s Trip
Once you have sufficient funding secured for the speaker, please follow these steps:
- Informally contact the speaker via e-mail or phone to ask whether s/he would be interested and when s/he could come.
- Upon acceptance “in principle,” you should inquire as to the guest’s status with regard to residence in the US. Is s/he a US citizen, US permanent resident, or non-resident alien on a visa? And then, which visa?
- Relay this information to Isabel, who will then discuss with you (if applicable) what the guest’s current visa will allow Indiana University to pay or what visa the guest should apply for to allow us to pay honorarium and travel expenses.
- The Department, via Isabel and the chair, then issues the official letter of invitation which spells out the financial terms of the offer and the visa requirements. Often this official letter is needed for the visitor to request a business visa when entering the country.
- Please put the guest in touch with Isabel, who will make travel arrangements including the flight, airport limo, and hotel.
- Plan the guest’s schedule while on campus, invite colleagues and graduate students to share meals with him/her, and confer with Isabel regarding a post-lecture reception. A visit to the FMS Tax Office may be required if the guest does not have a US taxpayer ID number.
- Find out whether the guest needs any technology aids for his/her talk and let Isabel know so she can make arrangements.
During and After the Visit
When the guest is on campus, s/he should stop by Isabel’s desk to complete any necessary paperwork for payment of honorarium and travel expenses. If necessary, s/he should visit the FMS Tax Office to apply for a US taxpayer ID number and to apply for exemption from tax withholding for the honorarium (see below).
Please be sure to obtain itemized receipts for all meals with the guest and submit these promptly to Isabel for reimbursement.
If the guest was here as a non-resident alien, then a form 8233 “Exemption from Withholding” will be forthcoming from our Tax Office, provided s/he is from a country with which the US has a tax treaty. The form allows the guest to receive payment without having taxes deducted. Unless the guest is here for an extended period of time, the completed 8233 will not be available until after s/he leaves. At that point, Isabel will fax the form to the guest speaker or e-mail him/her a web link to obtain the form, and s/he can fax it back. Then payment of the honorarium will be processed.
