Event Planning

Review the SPHTMEvents calendar in Outlook to ensure that your date and time are available. Avoid double-booking events to ensure the best attendance at all events. You may add your event to SPHTMEvents as soon as you begin planning to ensure no one books an event conflicting with yours. Learn how to view and link to this calendar here: https://tulane.box.com/s/voxpmbclwu281sp1jr1xparzo8915pp8 

Ensure that you have the proper space for your event. Consider the size of your event and the types of activities you anticipate. 

Larger Events: If you are planning a large event, please contact the Dean's Office at sphtmdo@tulane.edu as early as possible. Large events are events with more than 75 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. The committee meets monthly on the first Monday of the month at 2pm. Contact Tom Augustson to be added to the meeting when you have an event. 

Seminars, meetings, workshops, etc., do not need Dean's Office approval, but it still should be added to SPHTMEvents to ensure that you are not cross-planning events with the same audience. 

EMS: Reserve your desired space in Tulane EMS and wait for confirmation.

• 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. 

Definitely make sure your event is in SPHTMEvents when you reserve a room.

To promote your event, you should add it to WaveSync as soon as the basic details have been confirmed. WaveSync is required by the university. 

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.
• 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 should not also have to complete a Communications Event Promotion Request. 

Why use WaveSync?

• It's a requirement for many events. Learn more. 
• 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. 

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.

Here are caterers who have been pre-approved by the university:

• Tulane Catering
• Cottage Catering
• Pigeon Catering

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 that 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.

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 thorughofare, 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: In Tidewater, you can reserve IT assistance directly 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, unless prior arrangements are made.

If you would like Dean LaVeist to participate in your event, please fill out this form.

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. EventBrite or Qualtrics may be good choices for some events.
• 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 posted once or twice a week 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 and visible 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.