Event Planning

Events will go more smoothly if you begin planning well in advance. Things to consider before you plan your event:

Will it be in person, virtual, or a hybrid of both?
Do you need to reserve a room for the event?
Does your event conflict with any other events?
Will you serve food at your event?
Will you serve alcoholic beverages?
Will you have more than 100 people attending?

Event Size

Larger Events

If you are planning a large event please contact the SPHTM Dean's Office at sphtmdo@tulane.edu. Large events are events of more than 100 attendees or multi-day conferences. Anything that is considered “high profile,” like a university-wide symposium or something that will attract many attendees from beyond the school, should be brought to the attention of the Dean's Office which has created an ad hoc committee to provide guidance and oversight to avoid conflicts and building issues.

Smaller Events

Seminars, meetings, workshops, etc., do not need prior approval, but you likely want to ensure that you are not cross-planning events with the same audience.

Virtual Events

You can use your Tulane Zoom Meetings access to create small virtual events, but larger events will present better in Zoom Webinars. For Zoom Webinars:

Complete a Webinar Reservation Form to set up your event.
Know about how many people you anticipate will participate because there are different webinar setups based on the number of participants. (Up to 3,000 attendees).
Designate a host and a co-hosts for the event to manage the webinar.
Speakers on a webinar will be designated panelists.
If at all possible, schedule a rehearsal a few days in advance.
Learn more about Tulane Webinars.

Event Location

Ensure that you have the proper space for your event.

The Diboll Gallery is a flexible space suited to receptions, luncheons, and some meetings. It holds about 100-150 people reception style. It does not have existing audio/visual capabilities.
The Diboll Auditorium is a theater-style auditorium with fixed seating. It holds approximately 230 people. It includes audio/visual capabilities.
Room 105 is a small, tiered lecture hall that seats about 50 people. It has basic A/V.
Room 104 is a conference room that seats about 15 people. It does not have A/V.
Classrooms vary from smaller rooms, capacity 20 people, up to larger rooms, capacity 80 people. All have basic A/V capability.
Conference rooms on the 24th floor are reserved for SPHTM use only and include a formal board room and a flexible seminar room.

Consult EMS for space availability.

Initial Critical Steps

It’s natural to want to wait until you have everything planned before your event is promoted, but we recommend alerting the school and university ASAP so that you can be notified if you are missing anything critical and to avoid conflicts. This also ensures that your event is promoted in a timely manner.

First: Enter your event into WaveSync.

Make sure you have user access. Students have a separate process for obtaining user access and must re-register annually.
Major units, all departments, specialized programs, and many centers have their own existing WaveSync groups. Student groups seem to work through the SGA for posting.
It is critical to list the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Dean’s Office as a co-sponsor. That will ensure that it gets populated to our school calendar.
If you list the Dean's Office as a co-sponsor, you should see it on the school calendar. (There may be a posting delay so give it a few hours to confirm.) If your event is on the school calendar, you do not also have to complete a Communications Event Promotion Request.

Why use WaveSync?

We are working with Campus Services to help improve WaveSync and create a downtown-centered logic tree for it. WaveSync serves multiple purposes:

It feeds into the school website calendar, helping you promote your event.
It feeds into the university calendar.
It provides one-stop shopping for many event needs, such as required TUPD coverage, parking, housekeeping, facilities services, and audio-visual.
It ensures that you are covered in the event of any kind of lawsuit resulting from your event. This could occur if someone trips at your event, gets sick from something they eat, or gets intoxicated resulting in an accident. Lawsuits can result from anything you can think of, and Tulane’s Risk Management group needs to be aware of events before they happen in order to confirm coverage.
It ensures proper staffing for housekeeping, facilities, TUPD, etc.

But I just have a small meeting, why do I have to go through all of that?

If you need to promote attendance to your event in any way, then you need WaveSync. WaveSync makes sure it gets on our website. It makes sure that you have space reserved. It makes housekeeping aware that there may be additional trash generated. It also lets prospective students know about the kinds of events that take place. It is very important that this audience sees that fun, interesting things are going on at the Tidewater campus all the time!

Food and Beverage

Food

If you will have food at your event, no matter how big or small, you must have someone designated as a primary contact. You also must have someone who has Food Handler Certification on site (may be the same person).

Certification is easy to get and is good for one year. Access Food Safety 2020 – OEHS at https://tulane.bridgeapp.com/learner/courses. Event Services is working with OEHS to ensure they have access to certifications so that you don’t have to upload each time, but make sure that you keep a copy of your certification.

Uptown events must use Olive Blue Catering. Downtown events are not limited to Olive Blue, although that is a good option. Here are caterers who have been pre-approved by the university:

If you are using a new caterer, they must be pre-approved by the university. All external food and beverage providers must follow these guidelines.

Beverages

Tulane University has vendor agreements in place which provide for the use of certain brands of coffee, tea, water, juice, soft drinks, and sports nutrition beverages at all university sponsored or related events and functions whether on campus or off. Use of the following brands is required: Coca Cola and PJ's Coffee.

Alcohol

The Tulane Alcohol and Other Drug Policy applies to all Tulane students, student organizations and groups, faculty, and staff regardless of the school or campus of which they are a member. This policy applies at all University sponsored or related events, whether on or off campus, and on all Tulane University campus locations, including Uptown, Downtown, the Primate Center, Health Sciences Center, Hebert Center, Elmwood, Maple Street, University-affiliated housing, and other remote locations/campuses.

Event Needs

Security: If your event has alcohol, you must have one (1) TUPD officer for every 100 guests, or for every 250 guests for events without alcohol. This must be reserved a minimum of three weeks in advance to ensure availability of officers.

Security is also recommended at Tidewater for evening events in the Diboll Gallery or Auditorium regardless of size or events in those locations that will involve high-profile guests. Since we are located on a major downtown thorughfare, events on our first floor are easily accessible to the general public. Please secure an office if you have any concerns. Security is arranged through WaveSync.

Housekeeping: By filling out a WaveSync form, housekeeping will be made aware and can check the room. Your unit will be billed for any cleaning that is out-of-the-ordinary, so it is important to clean up after yourself. Take a photo of the room after the event. Housekeeping will do the same and this will ensure that you are not billed for messes you did not create.

Audio-Visual: Tulane IT will be made aware if you need A/V assistance through WaveSync, but you can also be proactive and reach out to SPHTM IT at sphhelp@tulane.edu.

Facilities: Facilities Services can provide rental of tables, chairs, etc., and can also move existing tables and chairs. Do not move tables and chairs on your own! Note: Sofas, chairs, and tables in the Gallery must remain in the room.

Event Promotion

Use a variety of methods to promote your event.

Flyer/Visuals: Keep it simple. QR codes can make it easy for attendees to register. Do not have a lot of text – that can make it more difficult to read. Flyers are particularly challenging on the web because they cannot easily be read by screen readers for the visually impaired.
RSVPs: WaveSync has a way to secure RSVPs. Anecdotally, we have heard that students don’t like EventBrite. Qualtics can also be used for RSVP surveys.
Elevators: Events are often promoted in our elevators. Flyers should be quarter-page and must be delivered to Suite 1172 no later than the Thursday before the event. Flyers are typically posted on Fridays during the Fall and Spring semesters.
Weekly Events Calendar: Every Monday, SPHTM Communications shares a weekly calendar with the week’s events plus a heads up on events the following week. We will promote all events that populate the SPHTM site via WaveSync, if they are posted by noon on the Thursday prior to your event. If for some reason your event is not or cannot be in WaveSync, fill out this form.
Faculty- and staff-focused events can also be shared in the weekly Tidewater Times, which is delivered on Wednesdays. This is ideal for external events, as well, that may not go on the website or in other university/school channels. Use the same form.
Website: Use WaveSync to ensure it’s on the website.
University: Large events anticipated to draw an audience beyond the school can also be promoted to Tulane Today.

Promoting to Alumni

If your event will attract alumni, please use these additional methods of promotion:

Tulane Alumni Association Calendar - recommend using only if targeted invite list includes alumni.
On the Frontlines SPHTM Monthly newsletter (sends to all SPHTM alumni, supporters/friends of the school, faculty, staff, current students).
Must be received at least one month prior to the event. Contact Dee Boling at dboling@tulane.edu for newsletter submissions until a new alumni director can be hired.
SPHTM Advancement can support with invites to targeted audiences. All information must be shared with SPHTM Advancement at least 8 weeks prior to the date of the event.
For more assistance in developing an alumni event, contact Nicole Slater at nslater@tulane.edu.

Other Resources