Inviting a Speaker or Guest

Host's Responsibilities

Seminar hosts are responsible for the following items.

Seminar Date

The host will work with the Seminar Coordinators to set up a date for the guest's visit. Once a date has been selected, the Seminar Coordinators or host will contact the guest with the seminar invitation.

Guest's Itinerary

The Seminar Coordinators will provide a template itinerary for the host to circulate to all appropriate faculty.  If the schedule still has open slots one week prior to the visit, the host will work with the Seminar Coordinators to fill the schedule.

Trainee Lunch

The host may send the trainee lunch sign-up to any trainees they think may be interested. The sign-up is strictly first come, first serve basis, with a cap of 10 trainees and a cutoff one week prior to the seminar. If the sign-up is not filled one week prior to the deadline, the Seminar Coordinators will circulate the schedule to all trainees within the department.

Guiding the Speaker

The host will be responsible for both picking up and dropping off the guest at their hotel the day of the seminar.  If unable to do so, the host should arrange for another faculty member to guide the guest before the itinerary is finalized.

Dinner

MBS supports two dinners per seminar speaker, to be coordinated by the host, with the following stipulations. Please be advised that the University allows for no more than 20% gratuity of the subtotal.

  • Dinner on the night before for speakers arriving early is optional and will be capped at $200 total (equivalent of host and speaker). It may not exceed $100 per person attending.
  • Dinner on the night of the seminar will be capped at $400 total (equivalent of host, speaker, and two guests), and may not exceed $100 per person attending.
  • To be reimbursed for seminar dinners, hosts will need to turn in itemized dinner receipts as well as proof of payment (the receipt with the signature and tip write-in will suffice) to the seminar coordinators no later than one week after the dinner occurred. The host will also need to list the names (first and last) of all those in attendance for each dinner.
  • Reimbursements may not be approved if the receipts are more than 60 days old.

UT cannot reimburse the following:

  • Non-UT affiliated dinner guests (other than the invited speaker)
  • Over the per-person meal maximums ($100 per person per event (including gratuity and taxes))
  • A bill with alcohol charges that exceed 50% of subtotal charges

Nominate a speaker »


Speaker's Responsibilities

Guest Paperwork

Once a speaker has accepted the seminar invitation, they will need to provide the following information to the Seminar Coordinators. This should be done at least two months prior to their visit.  Non-US residents will be contacted about additional paperwork needed for visa and tax purposes.

  1. Payee Information Form (PIF)
  2. Scanned copy of their state-issued photo ID (driver's license, passport, or visa)
  3. Title of the seminar and an image that advertises their research

Flights

After paperwork has been processed, the speaker will be notified to book their flight. Flights must be purchased through UT's official travel agency, Anthony Travel (1-800-684-2044), at least one month in advance. Per UT regulations, flights must be economy class and will not be reimbursed without proof of purchase. If the flight needs to be upgraded due to medical reasons, please contact the Seminar Coordinators to initiate the paperwork. UT reserves the right to deny claims for exceptions due to medical reasons.

Reimbursements

The speaker will receive travel incidentals for three days at UT, including but not limited to meals at current per diem, taxis or shuttle fares, parking, and airfare if applicable. Itemized receipts and proof of purchase must be provided for transportation reimbursements. Speakers may also elect to take a $51 per diem, for a total of $153, in lieu of turning in receipts for travel. 

For additional information or questions, please contact Seminar Coordinators.