Call for proposals - Botany 2019 (US)

It’s time to start thinking about symposia and colloquia for Botany 2019, the largest annual botany meeting in the US, to be held July 27-31 in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Participating societies will be the American Bryological and Lichenological Society, American Fern Society, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, Botanical Society of America, International Association for Plant Taxonomy, and Society for Herbarium Curators.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Sky Islands and Desert Seas” and we would encourage you to think about this in your proposals. Proposals that incorporate the indigenous people and history of the area, and/or that forge ties with our Latin American colleagues, are also welcome.

PLEASE NOTE ONE IMPORTANT CHANGE THIS YEAR (see red text):

Symposia vs. Colloquia: What’s the Difference?

·Symposia are of broad, interdisciplinary, cross-society interest. They are limited to six speakers, and talks are 30 minutes each. The number of symposia is limited to six.

·Colloquia are on more narrow topics, perhaps of interest to a particular section or society. To increase flexibility in this format, starting this year, colloquia can include NO MORE THAN TWO 30-minute talks. All other talks are 15 minutes. Given the new policy, the total number of talks can vary from 8 (with 2 30-minute talks) to 12 (all 15-minute talks). There is no limit on the number of colloquia. (Please do not ask me if you can include 3 30-minute talks, the answer is no!)

Proposals for these sessions should include:

1. The name, institution, and email addresses of organizers.

2. The title of the symposium/colloquium.

3. An abstract/synopsis (400 words). This should describe the topic/content only. Please note that this will be used as the abstract in the program, unless changes are made at a later time.

4. A brief explanation (150 words) of why this topic is appropriate for a Botany conference symposium

5. A tentative list of six speakers with up to two alternates, including institutional affiliations, topics, and an indication of which have committed to participate.

Please note that when preparing proposals, symposium and colloquium organizers are expected to take into account gender, seniority, nationality, and other attributes traditionally underrepresented in conference symposia. We encourage proposals whose topics concern newly emerging fields, are synthetic, or that differ from those that have been included in recent Botany meetings.

1. A budget estimate with justification. Funds are intended to be used to defray costs for participants who otherwise would not be able to attend the conference.

2. Proposals should be submitted at http://2018.botanyconference.org/engine/calls_submit/.

Symposium selection process:

1. Proposals are due October 15, 2018. Please note this is a HARD deadline. If you need to be able to count on an extension, then the deadline for you is October 1!!

2. Proposals will be sent to the presidents of societies.

3. Participating societies will each endorse a maximum of six symposia (one vote per society). At this stage, this does not include a commitment of funds.

4. Societies will inform the BSA program director which six proposals they endorse.

5. The BSA program director will add up votes and send the tallies to the program directors of all participating societies.

6. A committee consisting of the program directors of all participating societies will make final decisions regarding which symposia will be included in the Botany 2019 program.

7. Once symposia have been selected for inclusion in the program, participating societies can determine how they would like to allocate funds.

Colloquia are not limited and do not require a vote, however societies can endorse as many colloquia as they choose and can contribute funds to colloquia at their discretion.