External Speaker Guidelines

Huntingdon College is a community of faith, wisdom, and service. Invited speakers will be welcomed on campus to encourage the college community to engage diverse ideas, people, and perspectives. Invited speakers are expected to nurture civil dialogue, thereby further cultivating our rich and vibrant educational environment.

To better ensure adequately planned outreach, logistics, and other details to facilitate a healthy exchange of views in a safe and supportive environment, the College requires advance notice of external speakers. To that end, the following guidelines are designed to:

• Enable adequate institutional preparation for events that involve external speakers
• Ensure the College anticipates and plans for any risks involved, including responsibilities under the law, public safety, and alignment with College policies

Prospective speakers must not be invited, and events should not be promoted, until they have been properly approved in accordance with these guidelines and other applicable College policies.

Criteria for Speaker Selection

All of the following criteria must be met for a person to be qualified to speak on campus:

• The speaker must have the education, training, or experience to discuss the topic(s) chosen for presentation.
• Speakers are expected to use appropriate language and to be courteous and respectful of the College and its campus community.
• While a speaker need not adhere to any specifically Methodist doctrine or policy to be approved, speakers are expected to embody the Wesleyan spirit of openness of heart and mind.
• Unless specifically approved in advance during the approval process, a speaker must not market or promote any commercial or personal product.

The sponsoring College organization, department, or group should expect to work with the Office of Student Development to ensure that the following issues are addressed:

• Significant public safety risk such that the safety of students, faculty, staff, and members of the community is put in danger
• Serious concern that the sponsorship of the speaker will result in unlawful activity
• Significant risk of major disruption to the operation of the College’s activities
• Risk of substantial damage to College property
• Serious risk that the costs associated with making the event safe (e.g., facilities management, security) are likely to result in significant financial loss for the College

Approvals for Speakers and Events

Prior to officially inviting an external speaker to campus, the sponsoring College organization, department, or group must submit its intent through the online Request for External Speaker Form at least 30 days before the desired date of the event. The Vice President for Student Development reserves the right to request additional information to thoroughly assess potential risk to the campus, community safety, and alignment with the College’s mission and core values. Once the review is complete, the requester will receive an approval or denial notification by email from the Vice President for Student Development or another designated staff member.

These guidelines apply to either of the following:

• Campus events when off-campus persons or organizations are invited to speak, perform, or present.
• Campus events are open to the public.

These guidelines do not apply to:

• Speakers invited by faculty to address students enrolled in a course they are teaching or to advance the learning goals for the class or academic program.
• Internal faculty, student, or staff seminars, workshops, or colloquia.
• Events planned by and speakers honored by the institution itself (e.g., graduation speakers, Endowed Lecture and Arts series, etc.) convey institutional approval and will therefore require approval by the President.

Decisions to approve or disapprove an event or speaker under this policy are final and may not be appealed. Following approval, the event may be published in the College calendar and internal campus communication.

Disclaimer

In light of the College’s commitment to freedom of inquiry, the invitation, planning, or hosting of guest speakers, programs, and events does not imply that the College or any of its organizations or units approves or endorses the views or ideas expressed.

This position must be made clear to the attendees. At events, the following disclaimer should be read during the introductory remarks:

Huntingdon College seeks to provide a campus intellectual environment that supports students’ pursuit of faith and wisdom in preparation for lives of service to their communities in the world. Huntingdon College neither agrees nor disagrees with views expressed but rather provides a forum so that each person attending may hear, contemplate, and discuss the ideas and opinions presented.

Helpful Information

• Plan far in advance!
• Check the campus calendar to ensure the date is open and free of major scheduling conflicts.
• If you are inviting an alumnus to your class or to speak at an event, please notify the Office for Alumni Relations (lbrelsford@hawks.huntingdon.edu)