I have done this in the past as a one-day conference.  We
invited federal agency representatives and speakers from
private foundations, etc.  The conference was publicized
statewide and a nominal fee was charged to cover the cost
of lunch, etc. (our Conferences and Noncredit Programs
office was great at handling the details.)  We picked up most
opf the registration fee for our faculty, and their
departments usually covered the balance.

Each year the conference had a specific topic, i.e., Math and
Science Education, International Programs/Studies, etc.  We
began with a large plenary session at which each of the
speakers (usually 4) gave broad overviews of their agency
and research/collaborative interests.  This was followed by
break out sessions where they provided more detail and
answered specific questions of the faculty.  We had a
keynote speaker for the luncheon, and went back into small
sessions and one-on-one appointments for the duration of
the afternoon.

Planning begain a year in advance of the actual program,
and negotiating federal speakers was sometimes difficult.
Faculty response, however, was generally good.  We always
brought in enough money to cover costs.

Charna K. Howson
Assistant Director
Office of Research Services
100 McIver Building, UNCG
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC  27412-5001
phone (910) 334-4316
fax   (910) 334-3140
e-mail xxxxxx@fagan.uncg.edu

>>> Research Administration Discussion Group 02/08/96
02:29pm >>>
Our office has been discussing the idea of inviting speakers
from
various sponsors to come to our campus to meet with our
faculty.

Have any of you organized this type of program for your
campus? If
so, which sponsors participated?    What was the faculty's
response?
Generally, how long did the meeting run?

Thanks in advance for your comments.