Faculty conference travel support is intended for faculty participating in an academic conference or comparable professional meeting by presenting a paper or scholarly work, providing a reading or performance, chairing a session, or serving as a discussant, normally evidenced by mention in the conference or meeting program. Support may also be requested for attending a conference for one’s own professional development (see below).
Faculty conference travel support is not intended to support professional travel that occurs outside of the context of a professional conference (such as editorial board meetings) or travel to conduct research.
Requests to fund research-related travel, including workshop participation to develop expertise, should be made to the Academic Research Committee via the Advanced Study grant mechanism. See: https://researchsupport.lafayette.edu/lafayette-funded-research/
Requests to fund travel supporting curricular or pedagogical development or assessment should be submitted as a “Request for Support from the Office of the Provost” and will undergo a separate review process. See: “Forms” at https://provost.lafayette.edu/forms-guidelines-and-information/
Faculty should submit their Travel Planning Form annually by the first Friday in September with trips listed in priority order.
Tenure-line faculty members, full-time lecturers, and visiting assistant professors are eligible to apply for first-priority conference travel support. First-priority conference travel will be allotted a maximum of $2,500 to be used for transportation, housing, food, and registration costs.
Tenure-line faculty members and full-time lecturers may also apply for second-priority and for third-priority conference travel support of up to $1,500 for each trip. Support of second-priority and third-priority conference travel is contingent on availability of funds. Up to $500 from the third-priority conference funding may be used for first-priority conferences involving international travel (except Canada), travel to Hawaii, and in extraordinary circumstances.
Faculty may complete with these funds one conference trip each year for professional development, where there is no significant contribution to the conference. Faculty with access to external or alternate funding sources are strongly encouraged to use those funds toward conference travel for professional development.
The total reimbursable cost of conference travel across the three trips may not exceed $5,500. Due to ongoing budget constraints, additional support for extraordinary conference travel expenses is not available unless necessitated by an emergency. If an emergency should arise, please contact Associate Provost Markus Dubischar by email as soon as possible.