Guidelines for Hosting a Visiting Educator
The following guide should help with planning and estimating budgets for Visiting Educators - costs quoted are subject to change.
Honorarium
Qi Jia, Senior Academic Assistant, will work with your guest speaker to complete the paperwork necessary to process an honorarium.
Please keep in mind that if your guest is not a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States, additional paperwork will be required. The IRS requires Whitman College to withhold 30% of the amount of funds to be received by the speaker if they DO NOT have a US social security or tax identification number. Honorariums should NOT be ‘grossed up’ to cover the 30%. To minimize potential miscommunication with your speaker concerning these regulations, please see Immigration Information.
Advertising
The easiest way for faculty to request advertising is using the Whitman Communications form: Event Advertising. Costs for on-campus flyers and off-campus paid advertising are included on that form.
Before you fill out the Event Advertising Form, it will be very helpful if you gather:
- Event Date
- Event Location
- Presentation Title
- Photo of Speaker
- Bio of Speaker
- Short description of the event or lecture (50 words or less)
- Budget number (GL # from Qi Jia or your building academic asst.
- Full name of the endowment (from Qi Jia or your building academic asst.)
Advertisements in Whitman Today should be sent to whitmantoday@whitman.edu at least two days before you want the announcement to appear.
Events should be posted on the Events Calendar at https://calendar.whitman.edu/ using the " Submit an Event" link.
Venue Reservations
Explore reservable spaces on campus using the Reservable Spaces Link or contact Victor Saldana, Asst Director of Conference, Events & Scheduling, x5366.
If additional tables and chairs are needed for the event/lecture, email reservation@whitman.edu.
Food
Please note that Bon Appetit must be used for all on-campus catering.
Bon Appétit Contact: Bon Appétit Contact: frisbieb@whitman.edu
For information about Bon Appetit catering for meals or receptions, see https://whitman.catertrax.com
Local Off-Campus Dining - Dinner costs should not be more than $60 per person (excluding the tax/tip).
Instructional Media Services
Contact: Haley Lowery or ims@whitman.edu
Requests for technical support are arranged by filling out the Event Support Request Form, which includes information about fees. This form MUST BE SUBMITTED AT LEAST 14 (FOURTEEN) DAYS BEFORE YOUR EVENT.
If you wish to record your event, you will need to collect the Recording Permission Form to submit with your request. Please be aware that IMS does not support off-campus events.
For a more detailed breakdown of IMS policies and fees, check here.
Book Signing
If a book signing is desired, you should contact the Bookstore (x5274) as soon as possible. Please let them know the titles from which the author will be speaking and an estimate of the audience size. This will allow time to order appropriate quantities of the book(s).
Lodging
When budgeting for lodging, please keep in mind that costs are generally higher from April through October. Additionally, some weekends are substantially higher due to local tourism events. Typically, visiting educators will stay at the Marcus Whitman or other nearby hotels. Airbnb should be used only for extended stays or unusual circumstances.
Transportation
Airfare: Please obtain a quote from an outside travel agent (our office uses Teri Owens at teri@travelleaders247.com, but there are others.) Be sure to include the service fee charged for booking through an agent or service in your estimate. You may also use an online travel site such as Travelocity or Expedia.
Rental Cars: Whitman has a contract with Enterprise and National Car rental agencies for deeply discounted rental car use for College business purposes. One benefit is waiving one-way rental drop-off fees. Contact Qi Jia or Laurie Doohan for the discount code and details. All gas used in rental vehicles is reimbursable.
Current mileage reimbursement rates can be found here. Mileage distance can be found on any map site, including Mapquest.