Guest Speaker Funding

Two departmental grants of up to $1,500 will be made available on an annual basis from the Lois E. Toko Lecture Series endowment to bring women speakers to campus.  The funding shall be used to offset the costs of lectures by women held September 1 through May 30 of the current fiscal year.  Funding may be used to support lectures organized by the department or by department faculty.  Departments are responsible for selecting the recipient. Recipients shall advertise the event as being part of the Lois E. Toko Lecture Series. 

The award schedule is as follows:

2024-2025: Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies; Theater
2025-2026: Philosophy; Music & Dance
2026-2027: Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Linguistics
2027-2028: Judaic & Near Eastern Studies; History
2028-2029: English; Classics
2029-2030: History of Art & Architecture; Art
2030-2031: Afro-American Studies; Architecture

Award Management 

Funds must be used in the fiscal year of the award; there are no extensions or exceptions.  Expenses will be charged directly to the endowment.  The account speedtype will be provided in the award notification.

The department chair will be asked to submit by June 15th a copy of the guest speaker’s biography or CV, presentation title or topic, and the date and location of the presentation.

Who to Contact

For more information, please contact:

  • Amy Fleig, afleig [at] umass [dot] edu (afleig[at]umass[dot]edu) 

  • Pari Riahi, priahi [at] umass [dot] edu (priahi[at]umass[dot]edu)