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Faculty Conference updates: Steven Pinker keynote, extended deadline, and more...

FIRE Faculty Conference 2019

FIRE's 2019 Faculty Conference will take place in Boston, Oct. 31-Nov. 2.

  • Now accepting attendee applications
  • Travel vouchers for eligible applicants
  • Proposal deadline extended to June 10 for presenters
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker. (Rose Lincoln/Harvard University)

We have several updates regarding our 2019 Faculty Conference at Boston University this fall. We’ll start with the biggest: FIRE is very excited to announce world-renowned Harvard University professor, author, and intellectual Steven Pinker will deliver our conference keynote address!

Pinker, a member of FIRE’s Advisory Council, is currently Harvard’s Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology. He is the author of 10 books including, most recently, the New York Times-bestselling “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.” (You can hear him discuss the book, among other topics, on our So To Speak podcast.) As one of America’s leading thinkers and a longtime advocate for liberal values in higher education, we’re delighted to have him join us this fall.

Second, we are now accepting general applications for all collegiate faculty and advanced graduate students interested in attending our conference. As in previous years, 2019 conference attendees will be eligible to receive a travel voucher of up to $750 to assist with the costs of travel and lodging. There is no deadline for applying, but space is limited; our previous conferences hosted roughly 60-70 faculty members, and we expect a similar turnout this year. Interested participants are strongly encouraged to apply early.

Click here for FIRE’s general faculty conference application

Finally, to ensure faculty are able to submit proposals for consideration, we are extending the deadline to submit proposals from Friday, May 31, to Monday, June 10. We will still notify authors of their acceptance by the end of June. Accepted authors will receive an honorarium of $3,000 for their presentation. (Co-authorship and presentation of papers at the conference is welcome, with the understanding that the honorarium is split among co-authors.) If you plan to submit, or have already submitted a proposal but would also be interested in attending as a non-presenter, we have you covered! Anyone who submits a proposal will be considered as a general applicant, and there is no need to fill out both forms.

Click here to submit a proposal for FIRE’s faculty conference

FIRE’s 2019 Faculty Conference will be held at Boston University from Oct. 31–Nov. 2.

It’s already shaping up to be a terrific weekend of discussion, and we hope you’ll want to take part. For more information and to apply for the conference, whether as a presenter or as a general applicant, please visit our conference page.

If you haven’t done so, we also encourage you to sign up for our FIRE Faculty Network to stay connected with FIRE’s faculty efforts. If you have any other questions, please email us at facultyoutreach@thefire.org.

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