Competitive lecture applications must be prospective, submitted at least ten weeks prior to the intended speaking date. Generally, the fall deadline should include applications for lectures occurring in the spring semester and the spring deadline should include applications for lectures occurring in the fall semester of the following year.

Each lecture application must be approved by the department, coordinated with other departmental events, and account for the balance and use of Taft Departmental Lectures funds.

Priority will be given to highly distinguished speakers who further interdisciplinary and/ or inter-departmental discussion or activities, and speakers that engage a broad community. 

Applications are limited to 10,000 characters (~1,500 words) and must include the following:

• A short narrative describing the conference, Name of speaker(s), lecture title(s), and date of lecture(s); and
• A short (500 word) biographical description of the proposed speaker, including their work, accomplishments, and status or profile in the field; and
• An outline of the intended activities, e.g. single lecture, roundtable, conference keynote, etc.; and
• Expected audience (size, composition); and
• An account of how the proposed event will contribute to either the humanities, social sciences, and/or inter-disciplinary knowledge and research that benefits Taft faculty and/or students; and
• An itemized budget including honorarium, travel costs, and lodging costs. In the case of honoraria funding, explain the amount requested based on such variables as disciplinary norms, the speaker's level of experience or other factors. Honoraria requests in excess of $1,000 requires significant justification and generally are not funded. Requests for hosting costs should explicitly address the need for anything beyond standard support.
• Applications must justify why their current Taft Departmental Lecture balance is or is not being used for the proposed event. A department which has not yet otherwise committed its Taft Departmental Lecture funds is expected to commit at least $1,500 towards the speaker. Requests for strong interdisciplinary events do not require departmental commitment, though an account of the interdisciplinary speaker and cross-department collaboration must be provided.
• Competitive lecture awards may be combined with Taft Departmental Lectures and Taft Conference monies. Applications must include an account of such combined uses and the status of departmental lecture monies.

• For each award, up to $180 will be made available to the organizing faculty member to support hosting the visiting speaker.
• Competitive lectures that are not part of a conference program typically should be held in the Taft Center. Receiving an award does not automatically reserve lecture space; grantees must contact Taft to reserve the space.
• Grantee is responsible for working with departmental administrators and understanding the visa status for foreign or non-U.S. citizen speaker, and how this impacts payment, the rules and regulations regarding speaker travel, payments, and events cost reimbursement.
• Taft offers advertising support, provided the timely distribution of needed materials. Departments should publicize lectures in classes, and to faculty, alumni, and the general public.
• All grant funds must be expended exclusively in furtherance of the grant and all expenditures of grant funds must comply with university policies relating to financial transactions, including the Code of Conduct and, as discussed in the Code of Conduct, the ethics laws of the state of Ohio which prohibit certain private financial interests in university matters. University Rule 3361:10-17-03 (D).
• Full disclosure of non-Taft funds received for the proposed project, both inside and outside the university, is required. A Taft award  may not duplicate other funds granted for the same purpose, except when a deficit in the project budget is anticipated even with such non-Taft funds.
• Where significant deviations from the approved application occur, the grantee must notify the Taft Faculty Chair in writing and receive written approval for the changes. Failure to comply with this rule will nullify the grant and require return of the award.
• Awardees must recognize support provided by the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center.
• Publications and creative works generated by the sponsored event should acknowledge the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center.

• Title and short overview including focus, content, format, and expected audience (including the estimated numbers of local, regional, and national attendees; graduate students; general public; academic specialists); and
• Tentative conference schedule, including locations; and
• List of Taft departments involved in organizing, executing, and participating in the conference; and
• List of conference participants, including name, brief description, and role; and
• Detailed budget including:
• Honoraria, travel, and lodging expenses for each participant.
• Promotion costs (printing, brochure, ads, postage)
• Other expenses
• Total cost

• Tangible and in-kind (Taft and non-Taft) departmental support
• List of evaluation committee members (members independent of conference planners)

Requests for honoraria must provide an explanation of the amount requested based on such variables as disciplinary norms, the speaker's level of experience or other factors. Honoraria in excess of $1,000 requires significant justification and generally are not funded.

Applications should avoid writing for specialist / disciplinary audience. Instead, applications should be speak to a general, non-disciplinary based audience. Unlike competitive lectures, Conference support is intended for formal meetings of associations, with multiple speakers. 

The application portal closes at 5 PM on the day of published deadlines.