Speaker Resources
Alumni Relations, housed in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, assists clubs in identifying potential speakers and panelists for club events, including conferences, panels, speaker series, and more. There is a formal process managed by Alumni Relations prior to clubs contacting prospective speakers, both alumni and non-alumni, and the Board of Overseers.
The office also assists by generating alumni contact lists to facilitate alumni outreach and attendance at club events, providing templates for event invitations and speaker outreach, and assisting clubs in promoting events to the alumni community. All prospective speaker outreach, event invitations, and conference programs must be approved before a club reaches out to prospective speakers, invites alumni to a club event, or goes to print on conference programs.
Speaker & Alumni Outreach
- Review the Conference Speaker Approval process.
- Submit speaker names via the Student Club Speaker Request Form.
- Download the Speaker Request Submission Template to submit in the form above.
- Submit speaker names via the Student Club Speaker Request Form.
- Any prospective conference/large event speakers (keynote, panelists) must be vetted through Development & Alumni Relations prior to outreach.
- Speaker invites must be approved before speaker outreach may begin.
- This includes alumni as well as non-Columbia-affiliated speakers
- Potential speakers who were approved during previous academic years need to be re-approved with each new academic year
- This includes alumni as well as non-Columbia-affiliated speakers
- DAR can assist with marketing your conference to the alumni community. Marketing pieces must be approved before being sent out.
- Final confirmed speaker lists should be submitted to DAR a week prior to the event date.
Speaker & Alumni Considerations
- Are you inviting more speakers than you can accommodate?
- Do you have intended purposes for all invitees?
- Do you have alternate plans in the event your first option does not work out?
- Are you inviting speakers who have special requests?
- Certain speakers will require a list of others attending.
- When planning your potential speakers for panels, are you being mindful of having equal representation of voices?
- Diverse panels are important. How many women vs. men are you inviting to speak? Are you being inclusive of diverse communities (e.g., people of color, LGBTQ)?
Dean's Office Participation Requests
- You can submit requests for Dean’s Office participation to OSA via CampusGroups. Clubs should not reach out to the Dean’s Office directly to ensure a streamlined process. Requests can be submitted for:
- Presence
- Opening or closing keynote
- Introduction of other speakers
- Requests should be submitted 4-6 months in advance of conference
- E-mail your OSA conference advisor directly with requests
Approved requests will require event briefs. Your OSA conference advisor will follow up with a template and assistance.
Note on personal Relations with Potential Speakers and/or Alum
Please inform Alumni Relations if you are planning to invite an individual to a conference regardless of prior relationships. Often times speakers and alumni have multiple asks within Columbia Business School and further communication may be necessary.