Convocations Committee

2023-2024 Members

Faculty
Dr. Chrissy Martin

Faculty
Dr. Amanda Donahoe, Chair

Faculty
Dr. James Reid

Director of Student Involvement, ex-officio
Mr. Ricki Rebollar

Senior Director of Marketing & Communication, ex-officio
Ms. Kate Pedrotty

Provost, ex-officio
Ms. Alissa Klaus

Student
Matthew Lulich

Student
Avery Cauley

Purposes and Responsibilities

The Convocations Committee helps foster a lively intellectual, artistic, and cultural life at the College by shaping a series of annual events. Individuals or groups may propose such events and seek funding from the Convocations Committee based on the annual budget allocated by the Provost. The committee will give preference to speakers addressing the year's chosen theme. Additionally, the committee will review nominations for honorary degrees and commencement speakers. The Convocations Committee reports directly to the Academic Policy Council.

In addition, the campus reserves the first Thursday of each month (excluding December, January, and May) during the academic year from 11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. as the Convocation Hour, primarily for programming events for the first year program. During the Convocation Hour, no other events may be scheduled on campus by faculty, staff, or students, with the exception of official Board of Trustees meetings and academic classes that begin at noon. All campus offices are urged to close for the Convocation Hour with the exception of those providing essential or emergency services. The Convocations Committee will liaise with the director of the first year program to ensure coherence and avoid overlap in the two types of convocations.

Composition

The committee will be composed of three faculty members recommended by the Faculty Coordinating Council and two students recommended by the Student Government Association approved by the College President; the Director of Educational and Cultural Outreach (with responsibility for managing the budget); a representative from Marketing and Communications (ex-officio); the Director of Student Involvement (ex-officio); and the Provost or designee (ex-officio). One faculty member will be elected to serve as committee chairperson.

Related Information

To submit a convocation request, use the
Convocations Committee Schedule and Funding Request .

Forms

Assessment of Convocations

Organizers of Convocations are required to assess their Convocation and send that information to the Chair of the Convocation Committee. Convocations Evaluation Forms should be completed by audience members and collected at the end of each sponsored event. The organizer is then responsible for submitting that data to the Chair of the Convocations Committee using the Convocations Assessment Excel file within the month following their event. Hard copies of the evaluation forms are not necessary. Organizers who fail to assess their event and/or send their data to the Convocations Committee may be denied funding in the future.