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One month left to submit your proposals for FIRE’s faculty conference!

Update: The deadline to submit proposals for FIRE's conference has been extended to April 14.


Since we announced our first-ever conference aimed at university faculty, FIRE has received tremendously positive feedback from faculty around the country excited at the prospect in taking part — not to mention some very promising proposals! It’s a good start, but there is still plenty of time left for faculty to submit their proposals by filling out the form at our call for proposals page, and we hope to see many more applications come in.

To briefly reiterate the aim of the conference, we’re seeking proposals on topics related to various aspects of academic freedom in today’s colleges and universities. Faculty whose proposals are accepted will receive a $3,000 honorarium for the presentation of their completed papers, and each paper will be presented as part of a panel discussion accompanied by responses from invited participants. The conference will take place Oct. 5-7 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and the venue will be announced in the next few weeks. The complete text of our call for proposals can be found at FIRE's 2017 Faculty Conference page.

While I’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback from faculty, I’ve also received a number of questions I’m happy to answer.

I’m a graduate student who will be pursuing teaching positions in the next few years. Am I allowed to apply?

Absolutely. We believe the conference could benefit greatly from the views of those preparing for futures in the academy, and anyone so interested is encouraged to apply.

I’m an adjunct professor who teaches at a number of institutions. Can I apply if I don’t have a traditional faculty appointment?

You bet. Adjunct professors are a prominent fixture of the modern academy, and I hope we’ll have some in attendance who can contribute their perspectives to the discussion.

Are independent scholars and think tank specialists who work predominantly outside the academy welcome to apply as well?

Yes. If you have an idea for discussion that you think would be a good fit for the conference, we’ll be happy to consider it.

Are co-authored submissions accepted?

Yes, with the understanding that the honorarium will be split among the authors.

Are submissions from outside the United States accepted?

I’ve had a couple varieties of this question from scholars in Canada and in Europe, among other locations. While we expect that the audience will be drawn primarily from American institutions and that the conference will focus largely on issues of American higher education, we are happy to consider applications from abroad. We cannot at this moment promise, however, that we will be able to completely cover the cost of travel to the conference for those attendees if those costs are significantly higher than those of domestic travel.

Prospective applicants with any additional questions about the conference are encouraged to email us at facultyconference@thefire.org.

The deadline for proposals for our conference is March 31, but while there are still a few weeks left, we encourage interested faculty to submit as soon possible.

Stay tuned to FIRE for more updates about our conference, and we hope to see you in the fall!

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