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embitteredhistorian
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« Reply #45 on: November 23, 2009, 03:50:53 AM » |
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I paid for all of my travelling when I was doing my post-doc, but had all of my conferences paid for when I did my Ph.D. (the world is a weird place, I know). One conference was 4 days long and cost about $600 for registration and about $200 for travel. It was a great conference, but admittedly a waste of money. It take me to one of the most horrifying parts of the world on Earth, though.
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fortepiano
Junior member
Posts: 58
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« Reply #46 on: November 23, 2009, 09:53:29 AM » |
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IF the conference is in a resort area or out of the country, then we only get partial reimbursement - if at all.
OK, you've said this twice now. I did a double take the first time I read it, and also the second time. Why only partial reimbursement if the conference is "in a resort area" or "out of the country?" Certain international conferences can be very important networking opportunities and a way for the university to become known abroad. And "resort area?" What's up with that? Who cares if the conference on Josquin is in Atlantic City of the Debussy symposium is in Aspen? Why should any HR person, admin assistant, or anyone else take up even five seconds of their time deciding what a resort area is in order to able to reduce reimbursement for legitimate work-related expenses? I resent the assumption that I would be going to a conference in Vegas so that I could take in a Bill Maher show and get in some gambling rather than present my work and make contacts. And for the record, I HATE Vegas! (The slot machines in the restroom were my first turn-off.) |
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embitteredhistorian
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« Reply #47 on: November 23, 2009, 10:29:26 AM » |
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IF the conference is in a resort area or out of the country, then we only get partial reimbursement - if at all.
OK, you've said this twice now. I did a double take the first time I read it, and also the second time. Why only partial reimbursement if the conference is "in a resort area" or "out of the country?" Certain international conferences can be very important networking opportunities and a way for the university to become known abroad. And "resort area?" What's up with that? Who cares if the conference on Josquin is in Atlantic City of the Debussy symposium is in Aspen? Why should any HR person, admin assistant, or anyone else take up even five seconds of their time deciding what a resort area is in order to able to reduce reimbursement for legitimate work-related expenses? I resent the assumption that I would be going to a conference in Vegas so that I could take in a Bill Maher show and get in some gambling rather than present my work and make contacts. And for the record, I HATE Vegas! (The slot machines in the restroom were my first turn-off.) Where did you see a slot machine in a restroom? I want to see that myself. |
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conjugate
Compulsive punster and insatiable reader, and
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,026
Tends to have warped sense of humor
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« Reply #48 on: November 23, 2009, 10:32:33 AM » |
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IF the conference is in a resort area or out of the country, then we only get partial reimbursement - if at all.
OK, you've said this twice now. I did a double take the first time I read it, and also the second time. Why only partial reimbursement if the conference is "in a resort area" or "out of the country?" Certain international conferences can be very important networking opportunities and a way for the university to become known abroad. And "resort area?" What's up with that? Who cares if the conference on Josquin is in Atlantic City of the Debussy symposium is in Aspen? Why should any HR person, admin assistant, or anyone else take up even five seconds of their time deciding what a resort area is in order to able to reduce reimbursement for legitimate work-related expenses? I resent the assumption that I would be going to a conference in Vegas so that I could take in a Bill Maher show and get in some gambling rather than present my work and make contacts. And for the record, I HATE Vegas! (The slot machines in the restroom were my first turn-off.) Where did you see a slot machine in a restroom? I want to see that myself. Gives a whole new meaning to the word "Jack-Pot." |
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Unfortunately, I think conjugate gives good advice.
∀ε>0∃δ>0∋|x–a|<δ⇒|ƒ(x)-ƒ(a)|<ε |
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clean
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« Reply #49 on: November 23, 2009, 12:29:14 PM » |
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IF the conference is in a resort area or out of the country, then we only get partial reimbursement - if at all.
OK, you've said this twice now. Well, my dean is a wonderful money manager. He manages to find us money above what the university generally allocates. We can allocate up to $1500 per conference. However, if we go out of the country or to a resort the feeling is that we wont spend all day at the conference or that we will otherwise be willing to subsidise the trip ourselves. In the Dean's words, he wants "the administration to think that we are suffering". So, that is the deal. Oh, and international travel, especially in this economy, is greatly curtailed. I think that the second order condition is the advice advice that you should not do anything that you didnt want on the front page of the newspaper. So if we allow travel to resorts or international events, but we only partially fund them, we can better withstand the heat. The downside is that IF I have to pay for part of the trip, then I am less likely to stay inside at a stuffy conference all damn day! |
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"The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" Darth Vader
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ucprof
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« Reply #50 on: November 28, 2009, 06:59:17 PM » |
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@lizzy - in the UC, university sponsored travel funds and research funds in general are largely limited to those who have no external sources of funding. So that means we in the sciences are funding our travel off of federal grants, not typically UC funds. Exceptions to that include (a) startup funds that a PI might have on hand (b) indirect cost return on grants - which is often very hard to negotiate and (c) non-general fund pots of money associated with things like the DOE labs and other targeted initiatives. Those of us with grants are sometimes choosing between sending ourselves to meetings and sending our students - because the funds have to pay for them as well as postdocs. If I am invited to give a plenary talk and it involves some funding I am often trying to negotiate some resources for my students to attend and maybe give a poster or something. How the UC funds travel for the humanities and soc sciences is going to get `interesting' with the budget cuts. Right now we are seeing record funding levels for federally sponsored projects while the state just cut our general fund budget 20%. It is causing even greater inequities between sciences/eng and humanities/soc sci and also causing some potential problems with students up the road because e.g. in the sciences we have lots of federal money for students but one has to train them and faculty are furloughed etc. Interesting times for sure.
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conjugate
Compulsive punster and insatiable reader, and
Member-Moderator
Distinguished Senior Member
Posts: 17,026
Tends to have warped sense of humor
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« Reply #51 on: November 28, 2009, 07:31:59 PM » |
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Small teaching schools sometimes make professional development funds available for faculty to go to meetings without presenting, just so we can keep up with our disciplines. You have to request them specially, in general, I think.
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Unfortunately, I think conjugate gives good advice.
∀ε>0∃δ>0∋|x–a|<δ⇒|ƒ(x)-ƒ(a)|<ε |
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socsci
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« Reply #52 on: December 06, 2009, 11:41:42 AM » |
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My university is paying for no travel this year for tenured faculty. I'm sure it will be the same next year as well. I think going is important to at least some of the conferences, but I am now seriously considering returning to my grad school ways and staying at youth hostels. I simply have to cut back on my spending, even though conference hotels are much better for networking. Will just have to stay up later and get up earlier. Would probably leave the laptop at home. I do deduct expenses, but that's only after 2% of AGI in the US.
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ucprof
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« Reply #53 on: December 06, 2009, 12:47:30 PM » |
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I never stayed in youth hotels but before I had my own travel funds on grants I would share a hotel room with another attendee. Most conferences I attend have a list of people who are looking for people to share a hotel room.
When I pay for students to go I routinely ask them to share hotel rooms when it makes sense.
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hmaria1609
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« Reply #54 on: December 07, 2009, 04:22:43 PM » |
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Update:
I found out last week there isn't much in the budgeted money for conferences. If you want to go, you'll have to pay for it yourself.
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