I. Purpose of the Learned Society Fund
The Learned Society Funds of LaGrange College was established for the purpose of giving financial aid to those full-time faculty members who desire to attend national and regional meetings of the Learned Societies in their respective fields of specialization and teaching. A Learned Society is defined as a society whose primary aim is the furtherance of scholarly research and the stimulation of belier academic instruction. In case of doubt, the final decision as to what constitutes a Learned Society rests with the Academic Services Committee which administers these funds.
II Operation of the fund
The Academic Services Committee recognizes two categories for reimbursement.
Category I applies to faculty members who present papers or otherwise have a major participatory role in their Learned Society conference. For Category I, a faculty member is eligible for 100% reimbursement up to $800.00
Category II covers faculty members who are attending conferences, but not presenting their own work. A faculty member in this category will be paid according to the following guidelines:
100% for all expenses up to $500.00 for national meetings
100% for all expenses up to $400.00 for regional meetings
100% for all expenses up to $300.00 for state meetings
A faculty member may be reimbursed either for attending up to two Category I meetings a year (Sept. 1st - June 30 of the academic year), or for attending one category II meeting a year (In other words: If you attend a Category II meeting, then you will not be reimbursed for any more meetings during that academic year).
If funds are available, a faculty member will receive reimbursement (for a first meeting) at the end of the month in which his/her claim is submitted. Unfortunately, fund limitations may mean that we cannot guarantee that a second Category I meeting will be fully reimbursed. If you attend a second Category I meeting, the committee will have to wait until the end of the fiscal year to reimburse you. All remaining funds will then be divided up and distributed to those faculty members on a prorata basis. The maximum amount that any individual faculty member may be eligible for per academic year will be $1600.00. Please submit reimbursement requests by June 30.
III. Applying for reimbursement from the Administrative Funds Committee
Before attending the meeting of your Learned Society, submit a reservation for funds using the on-line form at http://home.lagrange.edu/asc/learnedsociety/ . This is so that funds can be earmarked in advance, and if you fail to do this you may not receive full reimbursement. January 30th is the deadline for all first requests. Following that, requests for second Category I conferences will be added to the queue, subject to available funds. You may submit your fund reservation for a second Category I conference prior to January 30.
Immediately after you have returned from the meeting of your Learned Society, please submit a request at the above location and forward receipts and itemized expenses via campus mail to John Cook. Include a copy of the conference program if you presented a paper or made a similar contribution to claim category I remuneration. Mileage will be reimbursed at the rate determined by the Business office, which for 2008-09 is $0.535/mile. (Contact the Business Office for the current mileage rate.)
In recent years, the Learned Society fund has been exhausted before the end of the academic year. Failure to reserved funds early in the academic year may mean that all funds are already committed and reimbursement will not be possible.