One of the very first conferences that I presented for when I was a graduate student at Montclair State University was the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion (MAR-AAR) annual conference. The conference was at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, New Jersey the first time that I attended. Everyone was incredibly welcoming. I immediately made friends and developed acquaintances. For instance, I met Dr. Gerald Vigna who became a mentor to me. Dr. Michael Canaris was the graduate student representative at the time. He conveyed to me how the Executive Board served to operate the MAR-AAR. I was invited to attend the business meeting that year. I remember being in awe as the President at the time, Dr. Lauve Steenhuisen, gave her Presidential Address and ran the business meeting. I instantaneously became an enthusiastic member of the region. Soon, I was elected to serve on the Executive Board.
Throughout my time on the Executive Board, I assisted with the planning of several annual regional conferences. I worked closely with Dr. Matthew E. Vaughan among several other individuals from the region. I will offer some tips for planning a successful conference based on my experiences.
Dates
Select the dates for the conference. Think about whether you would like to host a one-day conference or a longer conference. Be sure to think about the needs of the constituency. Take holidays into consideration that may prevent individuals from attending. You may also reflect on how the weather during a particular time of year will impact the travel plans of attendees. The MAR-AAR traditionally meets during March at the beginning of spring.
Venue
Think about the kind of venue that you would like to host the conference. Consider if you would prefer to host the conference at an academic institution such as a college, university, or seminary, or would rather host the conference at a hotel.
Academic institutions often have no problem hosting a one-day conference. Several campuses have conference centers whereas others do not. Some schools may require that you use their catering services while others may ask you to use an outside vendor for food. If you are hosting a conference that is more than one day, then schools may use their dormitories as accommodations for guests. This means that the conference may need to take place during a time when students are not on campus such as winter break, spring break, or the summer.
Most hotels have the capacity to host academic conferences. They have large meeting spaces that participants could use as a part of smaller breakout rooms. Food is prepared on-site through the catering service offered at the hotel. For a conference that is more than one day, you will need to book a room block of hotel rooms for your guests. Be careful of the attrition rate before signing the contract. Essentially, you will block several hotel rooms for guests. The rooms that are not used in the room block will require you to pay an attrition rate. For instance, if you book fifty rooms but only forty people book their stay at the hotel, then you will need to pay an attrition rate for the ten rooms that you did not use. Many groups use hotels for various types of events. Thus, it is crucial to book far in advance if you decide to use a hotel as a conference venue. I suggest booking a year in advance.
Room Requirements
Regardless of whether you are hosting the conference at an academic institution or a hotel, you must be clear on your room requirements. Ask yourself the following questions.
How many sessions will occur in a day?
In other words, decide what the session slots will be. For the MAR-AAR, we regularly had three session slots in one day with about seven to eight parallel sessions occurring at the same time. We ensured the sessions that we anticipated a larger attendance for would meet in a bigger breakout room and sessions that we predicted a smaller attendance for would meet in a smaller breakout room. We determined this by reviewing the attendance for sessions during previous years.
Will you need a registration space?
Conference attendees may need a place to check in for the conference. This is where attendees may receive a program and a name badge. Some attendees may pay registration fees on-site at the registration booth. Also, attendees may visit the registration booth with any dilemmas that may arise during the conference. You should have more than one person at the registration booth in case someone needs to step away for a moment. I suggest three to four people throughout the duration of the conference. Work out a schedule with these individuals to decide the times that each person will work the registration booth.
Will you have audiovisual (AV) needs?
Academic institutions will often have AV setups easily available whereas hotels may or may not have AV setups on-site. When the MAR-AAR met at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ, we outsourced our AV needs.
How will attendees access wireless internet services?
The venue should provide instructions on how attendees may access wireless internet services.
Will you have a space for coffee breaks?
You might consider having coffee breaks for attendees if you are hosting a full-day conference. This may give them time to network and meet other attendees.
Will you serve breakfast?
Think about the food and beverage that you will provide. If you decide to serve breakfast, determine what kind of breakfast you will serve. Will you serve a light breakfast with bagels, breads, and fruits along with juices, tea, and coffee? Will you serve a hot breakfast with all the trimmings? Remember to consider dietary needs such as vegetarians, vegans, and kosher attendees. The kind of breakfast that you will serve will determine the space that you need for dining.
Will you serve lunch?
Decide if you would prefer to serve boxed lunches or hot entrees. Again, remember to consider dietary needs such as vegetarians, vegans, and kosher attendees. You might dine in a large space or a small setting depending on the kind of lunch that you plan to serve.
You may gather the dietary information of registrants when people register online. Ask if registrants have dietary preferences. I always appreciate this since I am a vegetarian.
Will you require a space for a Keynote Address, Plenary Session, and/or Presidential Address?
Consider the space that you will need for any of these abovementioned events. You may decide to have these events during breakfast or lunch since this means that you will be able to use the space that is already being used for dining.
Will you host a reception?
Receptions provide the opportunity for conference attendees to meet and greet one another as they network together. Decide on the food preferences for the reception. Usually, at the MAR-AAR, we serve appetizers and finger foods if we host a reception. Think about if you would like a cash bar or not. The kind of reception that you host will determine the space that you need.
Programming
Be sure to develop a Call for Papers that conveys the conference theme, submission requirements, and submission deadline. Decide on a protocol for handling submissions. At the MAR-AAR, we have Section Chairs who focus on specific areas of religious studies. For example, we have a Philosophy of Religion Section, Religion and Ethics Section, Religion and Education Section, and much more. We also have an Undergraduate Section and a Women’s Caucus. In the past, submitters submitted their proposals directly to the Section Chairs. The Section Chairs developed the panels and submitted that information to the Executive Board. Following this, the Vice President/President-Elect usually worked on putting the program together.
Decide on what the session slots will be. Be sure to include time for breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks, receptions, and professional development activities. When possible, I like to include professional development activities that center attention on teaching in higher education.
Here is what the program schedule looked like for the MAR-AAR in the past when I was elected President. For the sessions, we ran about seven to eight parallel sessions at one time.
Wednesday night
Professional Development Workshop
Thursday
9:00 am to 10:00 am Breakfast
10:15 am to 11:55 am Session 1
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Lunch
1:15 pm to 2:55 pm Session 2
3:00 pm to 4:40 pm Session 3
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Plenary Address
7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Plenary Reception
Friday
8:30 am to 9:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am to 10:00 am Presidential Address
10:00 am to 11:40 am Session 1
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Lunch
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Session 2
3:10 pm to 4:10 pm Business Meeting
Develop a solid program that you could share with attendees. You may print hard copies, email participants a soft copy, and/or post the program online. I typically include the organizational information, conference venue, planning committee information, and registration information at the beginning of the program. For larger conferences, I also include information on how to access the program information through an app called Guidebook. You will need to enter the entire program manually on Guidebook if you decide to use the app. Following this, I include all the session information for the parallel sessions. I like to use the following format:
I suggest three presenters for a ninety-minute session and a respondent. Not all sessions will have a respondent. Attendees frequently appreciate a question-and-answer session after all the presentations.
It is important to include the email addresses of the participants to help attendees communicate with one another. Also, listing one’s institutional affiliation can be helpful because some attendees may like to connect with individuals from schools that they are interested in.
If you are outsourcing audiovisual equipment, be sure to make a note of which sessions will require audiovisual equipment in the meeting space.
As you work on the program, ensure that presenters who are part of multiple sessions are not scheduled to be in both sessions at the same time. Confirm with presenters to guarantee that they will indeed attend the conference.
You may decide to publish an edited volume of selected conference papers or conference proceedings. An edited volume will require submitting a book proposal to a publisher and moving through the book proposal process. Conference proceedings may include all papers. The organization may publish the conference proceedings instead of a publishing company.
Registration
Will this conference be free to all attendees, or will the conference require attendees to pay a registration fee? If there is a conference registration fee, will there be registration tiers? Often, conference registration fees differ for undergraduates, contingent faculty, full-time faculty, and independent scholars. Some conference registration fees ask you to provide your household income and then that determines the registration fee. Consider setting up an online registration portal for attendees to use to register.
Unless you have a grant or another source of funding for the conference, registration fees help to pay for the conference expenses. At the MAR-AAR, we have a budget from year to year that grants us the ability to spend on significant costs for the conference. The registration fees for the MAR-AAR conference depend on the cost of the venue. In other words, the overall cost of the conference factors into what the registration tiers are.
Photography
Sometimes, I recruit a photographer to photograph the events and sessions at the conference. Photos provide the opportunity to share with the public the many events that occurred throughout the conference. It usually generates excitement among attendees as they look back at their experiences. You may also use the photos to promote the conference for the upcoming year.
Week Before the Conference
Send a detailed email to all registrants with logistical information about the conference. Be sure that registrants are clear on directions to the venue. This includes public transportation and driving directions. Be sure that registrants know where to park their vehicles. Inform registrants of parking fees or give them parking vouchers. Provide registrants with any details that they may need regarding the venue.
Print name tags for all registered attendees. The name tag may include the individual’s name and institutional affiliation. Insert the name tags into name badges. Attendees seem to prefer the lanyard and name badge as opposed to a name badge with a pin or a sticker. This is because the name badge with the pin and sticker can sometimes damage clothing. Be sure that you have blank name tags and name badges for on-site registrants. You may print hard copies of the program. Sometimes, it is helpful to create a poster board for display with the program information near the registration booth.
Review all final details with the venue and catering services. Remind the venue of the way to set up the meeting spaces and other events for the conference. Sometimes, hotels will give you lighting preferences. Hotels frequently have instrumental music playing in the background over loudspeakers. Request that the white noise be turned off during the duration of the conference.
When possible, I like to do a walk-through of the venue to be sure that all the details are finalized.
During the Conference Days
Arrive early on-site to set up the registration booth. You may prefer to use your computer for registration needs. It is helpful to develop a Google Form for people to use to register. The information for the form should then be linked to a Google Spreadsheet. As registrants check in, you should make a note of their attendance. Be sure that they paid any registration fees. You may manually register people who choose to register on-site.
Check-in on the panels as they are in progress to ensure that the sessions are moving smoothly. I usually like to peek into the rooms. Sometimes, I visit the rooms for a few minutes to see if there are any concerns. Also, you may check on the bigger events for the conference about twenty minutes beforehand to be sure that the setup is going along smoothly. Most importantly, build community and network among the conference participants.
After the Conference
Set up a meeting with the venue site to discuss the success of the conference. Be open with communicating any dislikes. Think about ways to improve the conference if the conference is reoccurring.
Send a thank you note to all members of the planning committee and the venue site. Also, provide a thank you note to all participants and registrants. Ask for volunteers if the conference will reoccur.
I offer these suggestions for planning a successful conference based on my experiences. These propositions are not meant to be a rigid planning structure. I share these recommendations as a guide to help conference coordinators as they embark on the conference planning journey. Conference planning can be a tedious task. I hope my suggestions ease the potential stresses of the conference planning process. A great deal goes into conference planning, but it is very rewarding when the conference is a success.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
