Thematic symposia at the SSAR Annual Meeting allow researchers to come together to present the latest research in an important or emerging line of research. Often, symposia result in proceedings and books. Symposia benefit SSAR by fostering interactions with the symposium participants, highlighting areas for further study, and informing us of the history and current state of the field.
With the special upcoming SSAR Annual Meeting in 2021 to be held at the University of Michigan with the participation of PARC, we invite the submission of symposium proposals for this landmark meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We anticipate several symposia and mini-symposia (1/2 day) will be held at these meetings, and SSAR will monetarily sponsor two of these up to a cost of $2000 per symposium. We also invite symposium proposals that do not require funds from SSAR. PARC will be soliciting for symposia separately through their organization and will coordinate with SSAR to ensure that symposium topics are complementary. We encourage organizers to consider publication of their symposium as an edited volume. Proposers who anticipate publication of their symposium proceedings should highlight this in the proposal and encourage presenters to prepare draft manuscripts prior to the meetings. The following guidelines are to be followed for a symposium or mini-symposium proposal.
Proposals due to the SSAR coordinator and the local committee representative by 1 December 2019 (PDF, Word, or RTF format): Dr. Richard D. Durtsche (SSAR; e-mail: durtsche@nku.edu) AND Dr. Alison Davis Rabosky (Local Committee Rep.; e-mail: ardr@umich.edu).
Proposal Guidelines:
- Three-page limit.
- Symposium Title (or Topic).
- Names and affiliations of the symposium organizers (phone number and e-mail address).
- Description of the symposium, emphasizing scientific merit and novelty.
- How will hosting this symposium benefit SSAR?
- List of identified and potential speakers and titles of their presentation. Documented speaker commitments in the proposal are encouraged.
- Type and Length of symposium: Symposium (e.g., full day or half-day mini-symposium).
- Anticipated outcomes: For example, news releases, outreach products, NSF proposals, publication in edited volumes. What arrangements have been made to realize these outcomes?
- Budget: SSAR funding requested (max. $2000); a detailed budget with justification (preferentially to support students, post-docs, international researchers); other funding sources and in-kind support if available. Inclusive, workrelated, social events that support the symposium can be proposed.
SSAR Symposium Proposal Review Process:
- Proposals received by the SSAR symposium committee will be sent for external review, and comments forwarded to the Local Committee and SSAR Board by February 1, 2020.
- The two top-rated proposals seeking SSAR funding will be determined by the SSAR Board, and symposium organizers will be informed of the decision by the Symposium Committee or the SSAR Chair by 15 February 2020.
- Additional symposia proposals (SSAR funding sought or not) will be ranked, and decisions made jointly by the SSAR Board and/or the Local Committee for inclusion in the 2021 meetings. Final decisions will be conveyed to symposium organizers by 15 February 2020.
*Symposium organizers and participants for the SSAR monetarily sponsored symposia will be reimbursed for allowable expenses based on receipts submitted to the SSAR Treasurer that match the proposal budget. Requests for changes to the budget must be submitted 10 business days before the date of the symposium.