printable versionStanford Conference Services offers help for program planners
The AlwaysOn AO2005 Innovation Summit was held on campus last year with assistance from SCS, a division of Residential & Dining Enterprises.
With the 2006 summer conference season just months away, university staff charged with planning events are turning to Stanford Conference Services (SCS) for help in arranging campus housing, meal plan options, catering, meeting venues and other essential elements for their upcoming programs. SCS also has helped organizers understand Stanford's conference guidelines and policies more clearly.
Each summer, from mid-June through Labor Day, SCS—a division of Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE)—oversees a roster of events that bring 18,000-plus attendees to campus to participate in more than 200 distinctive academic programs. Participants can range from youth participating in a sports program to learning about the medical profession, from executives building their leadership skills to engineers addressing today's most critical technology issues.
Every conference must operate within specific guidelines and policies established by the university. SCS educates its clientele on these rules, while also requiring every summer conference group to submit a sponsorship form—signed by a Stanford department head—verifying that the prospective program supports the university's academic mission.
The Stanford Professional Publishing Course, which holds an annual summer conference on campus, is a model of a program that mutually benefits participants and the university. The conference has been held on campus since 1978 and provides mid-career publishing professionals—from more than 30 countries and six continents—with opportunities to enhance their skills in a wide range of disciplines, while also learning new technologies.
By experiencing Stanford through this program, some of nation's top news editors—including those from Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal—have come to realize the significant role that the university plays in the realms of business, technology, entrepreneurship and innovation, according to Holly Brady, the program's director. Some of the attendees also give lectures during the conference.
SCS offers conference planners a variety of lodging options, flexible meal plans, catering, executive services, indoor and outdoor meeting venues and year-round registration services. Additionally, SCS advises summer clients on a myriad of critical conference components, including residential room rosters, auditorium usage fees and parking permits. SCS also issues work orders and serves as a liaison to university departments providing computer and Internet hookups, audio and video equipment rentals, janitorial services, outdoor event furnishings, lawn sprinkler shut-offs, parking field rentals, and trash pickup, removal and recycling services.
"Through one-on-one meetings and tours, we work with each program organizer to facilitate a smooth and all-encompassing planning process," said Jeff Marson, manager for marketing and sales at SCS. He added that summer conferences often have a "positive, far-reaching and lasting impact on many people."
For instance, Marson pointed to the 25-year old Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) Program in Business, which held one of its Summer Business Institutes at Stanford for the first time in July 2005. This program allowed aspiring high school students from underserved communities around the country to interact with Stanford faculty as well as with various Bay Area business leaders. As a result of their experience, LEAD organizers said the young participants were inspired to pursue college educations, as well as careers in business.
In addition to advancing the university's mission, Marson said summer conferences also contribute to Stanford's financial health in several ways. Each year, conference revenue helps to offset student room-and-board fees for the academic year, while summer conference guests bring business to campus retail food operations, Stanford Athletics, the Bookstore, Stanford Lively Arts, the Cantor Arts Center and other departments.
SCS creates seasonal employment for 60 undergraduate and graduate students, and along with its full-time staff, the office provides services to conference clients throughout the year. To learn more about SCS conference planning resources, visit http://conference.stanford.edu, call 723-3126 or e-mail conferenceinquiries@stanford.edu.