Faculty & Staff Research Symposium

Calls for submissions are announced in the spring over email and in Spiderbytes, with the deadline to submit an interest form typically set for a Monday in June. The form is simple, asking for a brief description of your proposed topic and keywords.

Interest forms for the 2026 symposium will be due on Monday, June 8, at 11:59 p.m. You can find a link to the form on this webpage.

Sessions are all 75 minutes long and follow the teaching schedule, with multiple sessions running in the same time slot (like in conferences). There are two time slots for morning sessions (9:00–10:15 a.m. and 10:30–11:45 a.m.) and two for afternoon sessions (1:30–2:45 p.m. and 3:00–4:15 p.m.). There are four possible formats:

(1) Panels: Three to four presenters speak for 15 minutes each, followed by Q&A. The panels are facilitated by a chair who introduces speakers and manages time. They are especially well-suited for work that is completed or nearing completion.

(2) Roundtables: Five to six presenters speak for 8-10 minutes each, followed by Q&A. The roundtables are facilitated by a chair who introduces speakers and manages time. They are especially well-suited for presenting work-in-progress/emerging ideas, showcasing collaborative research projects, and discussing projects arising from previous symposia.

(3) Poster Sessions: Six to seven presenters speak for 5-8 minutes each about a physical poster highlighting their work, followed by Q&A and individual discussions. The chair facilitates the session and manages the time.

(4) “Let’s Talk About...” Forums: These sessions are facilitated discussions focused around a specific topic, idea, or question that reaches across disciplines. Sessions are proposed and facilitated by two or three people from different departments or offices. After introductions, the facilitators guide a conversation around the topic. To center the discussion, facilitators may offer suggested materials for audience members to consider ahead of time (an article/media clip/artwork/dataset/chart/audio clip, etc.), though reviewing materials should not be required for an audience member to attend the session.

In two ways:

(1) You may, before you fill out the interest form, organize a group ahead of time for any of the presentation options. To propose a pre-formed panel, roundtable, or poster session, each participant should complete a separate interest form describing their individual project; be sure to check the “pre-formed group” option and add the names of the other presenters where indicated. For the “Let’s Talk About...” forums, two or three facilitators may propose a topic together, checking the “Let’s Talk About...” option on the interest form.

PLEASE NOTE: To keep the sessions interdisciplinary in nature, all preformed sessions, including “Let’s Talk About...” forums, should include members from at least two different departments and/or offices and, if possible, from more than one school.

(2) You do NOT need a pre-formed group, however. You may simply submit an individual proposal, indicating 3-4 general keywords to describe your topic. The organizers will read through all the individual interest forms and sort them by theme into interdisciplinary sessions across offices, schools, and departments.

Over the summer, participants are asked to review their proposed session group and make any updates they like to their project description.

Yes. On the interest form, you may select the format (panel/roundtable, poster, or “Let’s Talk About...” forum) that best fits your project and your needs.

What "counts" depends on your area of expertise and what you would like to share with colleagues. You might discuss a current idea, argument, book project, article, conference talk or research issue; a specific initiative or program you’re creating or are a part of; an art work or performance (with clips and examples); a current experiment; an archive or partnership you’re working on; a musical composition or a work of creative writing (with recordings/excerpts). You could present on an experience you’ve had in leadership or strategy, or on a new, research-based pedagogical topic. Please feel free to reach out if you’re unsure your topic fits (it probably does, but happy to chat).

Yes! Offering an update on a previously presented project is fine. Keep in mind that your audience will likely be different, so describing the project and the update will be helpful.

To allow as many participants as possible, everyone is asked to present or facilitate at only one session per year. You are, however, free to attend as many sessions as the laws of time and space permit.

Absolutely. On the interest form for presenting, you’re asked to indicate times that won’t work for you, and you can avoid your teaching times.

You are welcome all day; each office will need to decide what guidelines will apply. For presenters, indicate on the interest form if there are any times that won’t work for you.

Absolutely. Please do. Invite your coworkers. Come for all or part of the day, whether you are presenting or not. You don’t need to register to attend the symposium.

Everyone at the university is invited to attend the symposium, whether they are presenting at other sessions or not. One advantage of the symposium format is that every session has a built-in audience: even if only the speakers are present, you will still be joined by 3-10 colleagues from across the university to discuss your work and theirs.

Yes, though for now, the symposium is focused on building the faculty and staff community, and talks should be aimed at this audience. Students are invited, but we ask that you do not require attendance for a student or a class. If you want to present on research you’re doing with students, those students may certainly attend and help with the presentation, but should not present themselves.