Policies and Procedures
AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT
Please Note: Columbia University's Faculty House will be undergoing renovations from April 2008 through the fall of 2009. Please contact the University Seminars office for questions regarding Audio visual assistance.
Seminars needing audio-visual (AV) equipment are responsible for reserving equipment in advance of meetings. If the seminar requires AV equipment on a regular basis, it is recommended that meetings be held in the Faculty House where University Seminars maintains its own equipment. Seminars meeting in departments of instruction may have access to departmental equipment and arrangements must be made with the departmental administrator. Seminars meeting in the Kellogg Center and other locations where AV equipment is not available must reserve equipment through the AV department or make arrangements to transport the equipment to and from the seminars office.
Faculty House
University Seminars maintains AV equipment in the Faculty House for use by the seminars meeting in Faculty House at no charge. The following equipment is available on a first-come basis:
- LCD Computer/Video Projectors
- Overhead Projectors
- Slide Projectors
- Cassette Recorders
- VCR & Monitor
- DVD & Monitor
- PA System
Reservations should be made through the University Seminars at (212) 854-2389. Equipment will be placed in the meeting room prior to the meeting.
If the equipment needed has already been booked by another seminar, it will be necessary to rent equipment from the AV department. This equipment does entail a rental fee and must be picked-up and returned by the seminar.
Audio-Visual Department
Seminars may rent equipment from the Audio-Visual (AV) Department at 111 Mathematics (212-854-4175).
The AV Department offers the following guidelines for equipment rental:
- Requests must be made at least five (5) working-days in advance. Orders placed with less lead time will incur a $25.00 surcharge.
- Equipment must be picked up and returned by the user between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.
- Rental fees are for a 24-hour period. There is a $5.00 per day charge for late returns.
When renting or purchasing from the AV Department, please be certain to specify the seminar to be charged by name and number. Seminars assume full responsibility for rented equipment. Repair and replacement costs of equipment damaged through misuse are charged to the seminar.
Available Equipment
The following equipment may be rented from the AV Department:
- LCD Computer Projection with technician............................................... $63.00/hr
- Opaque Projectors (use with non-transparent materials)........................ $26.25/day
- Overhead Projectors (use with transparencies)...................................... $15.75/day
- Screens, on tripod, 50x50, 60x60, or 70x70........................................ $10.50/day
- Slide Projector, 35mm, automatic, carousel.......................................... $15.75/day
- Tape Recorder, Cassette, AC or battery operated (you supply batteries) $5.25/day
DINNER RESERVATIONS
Please Note: During the renovation of Faculty House all seminars should book their own dinner renovations at local restaurants or call the University Seminars office about options for catering at Columbia. Please communicate all booked reservations to the University Seminars.
At the beginning of the year, Rapporteurs should make a reservation for all known meeting dates for the seminar’s usual number of dinner attendees. At this time, all dinner reservations should be phoned in to the Faculty House Dinner Reservation line at (212) 854 7199 or faxed to (212) 854-3062. An extra copy of this reservation request should be kept as backup.
Written reservations should include:
- The Seminar’s Name & Number
-
Rapporteur’s Name & Contact Information
-
Date & Time of the Dinner and the Number Attending
Second, Rapporteurs should call Faculty House’s Dinner Reservation
line at (212) 854-7199 one week before each dinner reservation with the
exact number in the seminar’s party. Rapporteurs should leave a
voicemail message confirming the details of the reservation: the
seminar’s name and number, the Rapporteur’s name, the date, time, and
the total number in the seminar’s party.
Faculty House will only contact Rapporteurs if there is a problem,
so it is very important to leave complete contact information.
HOUSING FOR SPEAKER
When a seminar requires housing for a speaker, it must take
responsibility for making all arrangements and for making certain that
funds are available in the seminar’s travel budget or gift account to
cover the expense. If funds have been expended, or were not budgeted at
the beginning of the academic year, the chair should contact the
director to arrange funding before incurring the expense.
Provided budgeted funds are available, the central office will pay
for one night of housing only. The seminar should arrange for an
invoice to be sent to the central office. If this is not possible, the
central office will reimburse the seminar or the speaker for the
expense, however, the seminar should be careful not to incur taxes and
to take advantage of any special rates offered to Columbia University.
Payment is made only for the speaker’s expense. The expenses of
additional persons traveling with the speaker are not covered. Payments
are not made for meals (other than the meeting dinner) or for other
expenses incurred at hotels (e.g., long distance telephone,
pay-per-view, room service, bar bills, etc.).
Seminars with balances in their gift accounts may agree to cover
additional housing costs, i.e., additional persons, additional nights,
additional meals, etc., but the budget should be checked carefully
before a promise is made to a speaker.
Please be certain to cancel reservations well in advance if the room
is not to be used. Expenses for uncanceled reservations are charged
back to the seminar. Rates listed below were current at the time of
printing, and are subject to change. Please check the rate with the
hotel when making a reservation.
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS
A number of housing options are available in the Morningside area. The
following list includes only the most commonly used (rates are per
person unless otherwise noted). All of these will bill University
Seminars directly:
Note: The seminar number must be supplied when making reservations.
International House
500 Riverside Dr (at 122nd St)
212-316-8473 / 212-316-7182 fax
Single: $115 - $125
Double: $140
Cancellation: 7 days prior arrival
NOTE: Check-in after 1 PM
Union Theological Seminary
Landmark Guest Rooms
3041 Broadway (at 121st St)
212-280-1313 / 212-280-1488 fax
Single (1 bed): $125
Double (2 beds): $165
Additional Person: $30
Cancellation: 72 hours prior to arrival
Off Campus
Rooms are sometimes not available on Morningside during peak periods
(orientation weeks, commencement week, etc.) or occasionally, a speaker
prefers or needs to stay farther downtown. Reservations may also be
made at the following hotels:
Hotel Newton
2528 Broadway (bet 94th & 95th Sts)
212-678-6500 / 212-678-6758 fax
Single/ Double: $125/140
Cancellation: 24 hours prior to arrival
Milburn Hotel
242 W 76 St. (at Broadway)
212-362-1006/212-721-5476 fax
Single (1 queen size bed): $135
Double (2 twin beds or 1 king size): $135
Suite (2-room): $165
Cancellation: 72 hours prior to arrival
Hotel Beacon
2130 Broadway (at 75th St)
212-787-1100 / 212-787-8119 fax
Single: $185
Double: $185
Cancellation: 24 hours prior to arrival
Also see additional Columbia University special rates for hotels in New York City at
MEETING ROOMS
Please Note: During the renovation of Faculty House seminars should try to find their own space at Columbia by contacting departments and Institutes in the field of the seminar. Please contact the University Seminar office for assistance in reserving space for your seminar.
Meeting space on Morningside campus normally is provided by either the Faculty House or the Kellogg Center on the 15th floor of the International Affairs Building. Seminars closely associated with departments of instruction may also use space available through their department—usually at no charge.
Room reservations should be confirmed on the day of the meeting. It is the responsibility of the seminar to cancel reservations that will not be used. Any charges incurred through uncanceled reservations are billed to the seminar.
FACULTY HOUSE
University Seminars receives a special rate for rooms in the Faculty House. Room rates are charged back to the seminar. The following chart shows the size and cost of Faculty House rooms.
Cancellation Policy: 2 weeks in advance to avoid cancellation fees. If Faculty House is able to resell the room for a last minute cancellation the cancellation fee will be waived.
* This room can be set-up for multimedia presentations. Reservations for use of the multimedia equipment must be made separately.
The Faculty House reservation forms are sent to all seminars during the spring term. Seminars wishing to reserve Faculty House space should wait for and return that form rather than writing a memo or letter to Faculty House. This will insure that a) the room charge is made at the special rate, and that b) University Seminars will be billed. Any changes to a seminar's initial schedule should be made directly with Faculty House, with the central office being notified after the change has been confirmed.
In case of emergencies, seminars normally meeting in other locations may book a room, if available, through Faculty House. When making such a reservation, please be certain to specify that the meeting is for a University Seminar, as well as indicating the name and number of the particular seminar. This will ensure that the seminar is not overcharged for its use of Faculty House space.
KELLOGG CENTER
Meeting space may also be reserved at the Kellogg Center on the 15th floor of the International Affairs Building. This space is limited in availability and is costs are charged back to the seminar’s budget at the rate of $40 per meeting. Preference is given to seminars that met at the center in previous years. The Kellogg Center does not send out reservation forms; seminars wishing to reserve space must initiate the process. Reservations may be made by telephone (212-854-2821), but a memo emailed to lom1@columbia.edu is preferable.
Seminars using rooms in the Kellogg Center are asked to note the following:
- All rooms in the Kellogg Center are locked after 5:00 pm
- The key to the reserved room must be picked up by 5:00 pm, on the day of the meeting, from Room 1513 IAB.
- The room must be reset, with the chairs placed in their original positions immediately after the meeting.
- Please leave the room clean, i.e., place all food and discarded material in waste barrels, and place these barrels outside the room for janitorial pickup.
- Any necessary resetting of the room or cleaning of trash, food, etc., will incur a janitorial charge which will be billed back to the seminar.
- Please make certain that the room is locked and that the key has been returned to 1513 IAB before leaving.
- Kellogg Center should be notified promptly of any cancellations.
OTHER DEPARTMENTS & Meeting facilities
A seminar planning to meet in a room belonging to another department at Columbia should check whether or not the department will charge a fee for the space. If there will be a charge, please have the department administrator call University Seminars before the reservation is confirmed to discuss fees and arrange for billing.
PARKING
Parking is available to all seminars at the rate of $15.00 per car per meeting in the garage at Engineering Terrace (119th Street and Amsterdam Avenue). Requests for parking permits must be made through the Central Office at least one week in advance. Only seminar participants with a parking reservation are permitted to enter the garage.
ALTERNATIVE PARKING
In cases when parking is not available through the Parking Office, or if a seminar participant decides to bring their car at the last minute, a number of garages can be found in the Morningside area. The following list has been provided by the Parking Office with the notation that it “should not be interpreted as a recommendation:”
Claremont Parking Corp
490 W 120th Street
(at Riverside Church,
bet. Claremont & Riverside)
212-866-1000 x203
Park Yorkshire Garage
151 West 108th Street
(at Amsterdam)
212-865-2314
Triangle Parking
627 West 129th Street
212-666-8405
GMC Garage
532 West 122nd Street
(bet. Amsterdam & Broadway)
212-888-7400
E&B Operating Corporation
137-143 West 108th Street
212-865-8315
Stratford Garage, Inc.
323 West 96th Street
212-749-2700
Westside Parking Garage
234 West 108th Street
(bet. Broadway & Amsterdam)
212-222-8800
GGMC Parking
512-520 West 112th Street
(bet. Broadway & Amsterdam)
212-865-1754
NOTE: The Parking Office follows its procedures strictly. Please honor all of their requirements and do not attempt to park without a reservation or to obtain parking on the day of the meeting.
PARKING FOR SPEAKERS
The Seminars office will, upon request, arrange parking for speakers to be billed directly to the seminar’s travel fund. Please call the office at 854-2389 at least one week in advance of the meeting.
PARKING FOR DISABLED
The Parking Office is able to accommodate special requests for seminar participants with disabilities. Contact the Seminars office to make arrangements
SUBVENTION FUNDS
Leonard Hastings Schoff's will left a fund to the University Seminars at Columbia to support the publication of materials that emerge from a University Seminar. Certain fields have been specified in the bequest for support: economics, sociology, psychology, penology and the behavioral sciences.
The Aaron Warner fund supports the publication of materials that emerge from a University Seminar. These publications do not need to fall under specific fields. Our Advisory Committee named this new book subsidy fund the Aaron Warner fund, in honor of the social scientist who was Director of the University Seminars for decades, and whose devotion to music on the one hand, and to the world of physics at Columbia, on the other, carried him far beyond the social sciences.
For more information see the Schoff and Warner Subvention Guidelines and Procedures
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