Plan Your Events

The Jindal School External Relations- Events mission is to connect the world to JSOM. Our seasoned events team works year-round to help you create and organize one-of-a-kind celebrations for the school and its supporters.

External Affairs Support And Contact Information

As a rule, the dean expects centers, programs and faculty to initiate an event to cover pre-event paperwork, arrangements and staffing in their specific area unless the event includes PR/photography/news coverage/social media/ and marketing materials.

For assistance in navigating the event planning process, contact Kristi Barrus, the Events and Marketing Manager. Kristi can help with a wide array of event planning necessities from offering suggestions on how to carefully plan a successful event from paper and University procedures, to developing strategies to boost attendance.

For support with marketing collateral for major events, such as invitations and signage, please email your request to Madi Franquiz, the Jindal School Marketing Manager, a minimum of six to eight weeks in advance of your event and complete a SOMMKT (SOM MARKETING) JIRA ticket.

If your event has PR/news value, Jimmie Markham, Jindal School Communications Manager, News and Public Relations, can help you determine whether a photographer/writer should be scheduled, and whether attendance from university administration or the JSOM dean’s office is advised. Please contact Jimmie as soon as you have identified a date for your event.

Be advised that the dean likes to know what is happening in the school. Letting his office know, specifically by contacting Associate Dean for External Affairs Diane McNulty, is to your benefit. She can prioritize the dean’s calendar and invite appropriate corporate or community guests, and elected officials.

Note that the President’s office requires six weeks’ advance notice if the President’s attendance is requested. Complete the Request President’s Attendance at an Event form a minimum of six weeks in advance, and as a courtesy, notify Diane McNulty, Associate Dean for External Affairs if you are making this request.

For event supplies and speaker gifts, email Kristi Barrus at least a week in advance of your event, and for event planning assistance, please follow the advance notice guidelines pertaining to Tier1-3 events as outlined above. For corporate relations assistance and fundraising, please contact Melissa Bettis, assistant dean, Development and Alumni Relations.

The JSOM Special Event Registration Form and the JSOM Event Approval Form are great tools to use to start planning your event, and both are required for those events for which you will need a budget and/or other event support from External Affairs.

Another great resource is the online UT Dallas Event Planning Guide.

The JSOM form focuses you on:

• Date/s
• Start and end times
• Expected attendance
• Account
• Budget
• Location and room reservations
• An event title
• Speakers and special guests
• Risk assessment/serving alcohol
• Facilities set up (tables, chairs, backdrops, etc.)
• Catering
• Audio/Visual needs
• Campus police/security
• Parking

It also quickly points out that you need to discuss and get an event budget approved by your program director, Associate Dean Diane McNulty, Vice Dean Varghese Jacob, Dean Hasan Pirkul — or a combination of the four. Once your budget is approved, you need to contact JSOM Financial Analyst Kimberly James to set up an event account. Expenses related to the event should be billed to and deducted from this account.

When you set an event date, it is always a good idea to check the University’s Comet Calendar and check with Diane McNulty for other events in the school, on campus or elsewhere that could impact yours. (You can also find the Jindal Comet Calendar on the UT Dallas homepage.)

**REMINDER: Your administrative staff is responsible for adding your events to the Comet Calendar, the JSOM website, and notifying the External Affairs office of guests and expectations of speakers, etc.**

Event Registration

For all JSOM events other than regularly scheduled classes, complete the JSOM Special Event Registration Checklist and then submit the required JSOM Event Form and JSOM Event Approval Form to External Affairs online at least 6 to 8 weeks (about two months) in advance of your event.

Download Event Registration Checklist

JSOM Event Form

Contact Events and Marketing Manager, Kristi Barrus, with any questions you may have regarding event registration.

Event Categories

Events in the Jindal School typically fall into three categories as described below. Please review the category descriptions and determine which your event falls into, to get a general sense for the appropriate level of support from the External Affairs and Corporate Development team.

Tier 1 Events

Tier 1 events are high-profile, outward-facing Jindal School events significant to the dean’s office as well as to a specific program or center, and they may be funded and/or supported at a high level logistically by the JSOM External Affairs office. Key speakers, alumni, major donors, corporate partners, or other VIPs are expected to attend, and often a media presence is expected as well. Attendance is often recorded in the Raiser’s Edge database.

Examples of Tier 1 Events: major fundraisers, awards dinners, JSOM program/center launch events. Typical support can include event management via Net Community, invitation/marketing collateral design by the JSOM marketing team, assistance maintaining RSVP list, booking of venue, catering arrangements, publicity, signage, gifts, registration/name tags, photography for print/social media, parking and other logistics. JSOM Tier 1 Event Proposal It must be submitted to Diane McNulty three to four months before the event.

Tier 2 Events

Tier 2 events are JSOM events of significance primarily to the sponsoring program or center, and they are funded and supported logistically in large part by program/center resources with some support from the JSOM External Affairs office for event consistency, quality and branding.

Examples: lectures, conferences and student competitions with corporate partners or VIPs in attendance. Typical support can include invitation/marketing collateral design by the JSOM marketing team, signage, gifts, registration/name tags, centerpieces, photography for print/social media, support as needed on event day and more. Six weeks’ advance notice required.

Tier 3 Events

Tier 3 events are third-party events in Jindal School space that are sponsored by corporate partners, outside organizations, alumni groups, or non-JSOM UT Dallas groups for various purposes including networking, recruiting, collaboration, education, PR and more.

Note: UT Dallas meeting space is a limited resource intended for UT System purposes and, as such, is only to be utilized for events that offer a clear benefit to UT Dallas or the Jindal School.

Examples: seminars, lectures, workshops, meetings, conferences. Minimal support provided by the JSOM External Affairs office can include booking of rooms, parking, signage, gifts, photography for social media, support as needed on event day. Six weeks advance notice required, and subject to the availability of suitable space and commitment of staff assigned to Tier 1 and Tier 2 events.

Booking a Room

The Campus Map can help you pinpoint event locations, give your off-campus guests parking information and construction notices, and download a printable campus map. Information on how to get to campus can be found at Directions to UT Dallas.

The Campus Map is interactive. Scroll over public buildings, and you will see hyperlinks you can click on to find floor-by-floor blueprints. Within the blueprints, you can search for a specific room number or scroll to reveal room numbers.

To start the booking process, please visit the Room Reservation Page of the Office of the President’s Event Planning Guide. It lists contact and form information on a campus-wide basis for auditoriums, conference rooms and meeting spaces, computer labs and classrooms and lecture halls.

As noted on the Room Reservation Page, all student groups and student organizations must register to use any room on campus via the Student Union system, Mazevo System. To avoid liability and other issues, faculty and staff should not book rooms in their names on behalf of students or student organizations, without designating who the faculty or staff member in attendance will be responsible.

To reserve the first-floor Charles and Nancy Davidson Auditorium (1.118), ECLAT Atrium (1.126), Rooms 1.502, 1.508, 1.516 and 1.517, Executive Dining Room (1.606) Sides A/B and Reception, 11.214, 11.218, 11.305/11.301A and 1.801 please fill out the JSOM Room Reservation – Request Form.

These spaces are frequently in demand, so it is advisable to book as far in advance as possible and to have alternative dates and locations in mind for your event. Remember to release “Hold Dates” immediately upon confirming a set date and do not forget to cancel dates not utilized. For events that begin early in the morning or end late in the day in the Executive Education Area, please book additional setup and breakdown time before and after the event on both the preceding and following day. For example, for an event that starts at 7a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. the same day, please request the space from 2 p.m. the previous day through 10 a.m. the following day to allow sufficient time for resetting the room./p>

Use the Calendar – Room Reservation system, JSOM Room Book, to book the following Jindal School meetings and conference rooms:

• Courtyard
• 1.105
• 1.106
• 1.108
• 1.109
• 1.111
• 3.216
• 4.418

All rooms in the JSOM II building are numbered as 1 + the floor number, followed by a period/dot and then the room number. For example, if you are in the new addition and need to be on the first floor in room 206, it would be labeled 11.206. Second floor=12 Third floor=13 Fourth floor=14.

So, if you are in the new addition and need to be on the first floor in room 206, it would be labeled 11.206. Second floor=12 Third floor=13 Fourth floor=14

If you have questions, please contact JSOM Dean’s Suite Reception administrative assistant Sheila Rosenberg at sheila.rosenberg@utdallas.edu, 972-883-4961.

To book classrooms and conference rooms elsewhere in the Jindal School building, contact your area’s administrative assistant or use the Room Reservation page of the campus Event Planning Guide. If you do not receive a response promptly, please contact a JSOM scheduling coordinator or call the registrar’s scheduling team directly at 972-883-2342 during regular business hours. For questions, contact Manager, JSOM Technology and Facilities Services Brandon Davidson at brandon.davidson@utdallas.edu or 972-883-4980.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are an advisor to an on-campus student or other group and/or serve as a sponsor to an off-campus group, you are required to be in attendance when that group uses a JSOM room. It is a good idea to familiarize your support staff with university and school policies and procedures.

Booking a Executive Education Room

The JSOM Room Reservation – Request Form can help you reserve an Executive Education Room.

Securing Media Equipment and Services

The Jindal School has its own JSOM Technology and Facilities Services Department, which responds to audiovisual and information technology equipment and support requests for events to be held in the JSOM building.

If you need:

• Audio equipment
• CD Player(s)
• DVD Player(s)
• Jindal School backdrop
• Microphones
• Monitors
• Portable PA System(s)
• Projector(s)
• Screens
• *Social Media
• **Video recording(s)

or other media equipment — or assistance with that equipment — review the information on the Special Event Request page and then complete the online Special Events Equipment Request.

• For a social media presence at your event – Contact the current social media specialist for assistance.
• JSOM Technology Services DOES NOT record video. To arrange for a portion or all of your event to be recorded on video, please complete the Video Services Event Request form.
  • The completed form should be emailed to media@utdallas.edu. Requests must be received by Media Services at least six business days prior to your event. (A late fee of $30 will be charged for requests made less than six business days before your event.) Note that submitting a request does not guarantee your request will be fulfilled.

For events not in the JSOM building but elsewhere on the UT Dallas campus, review the Event Technology Support FAQ (which can be found on the Forms page of the University website) before you contact Event Technology Support, a division of Media Services. You may reach them by phone at 972-883-4900 or email, media@utdallas.edu.

If you decide to request equipment not in the JSOM building, you will need to complete an Event Technology Request. Note that requests must be received by Media Services at least six business days prior to your event (a late fee of $30 will be charged for requests made less than six business days before your event) and that submitting a request does not guarantee your request will be fulfilled.

If you believe footage from your event may be beneficial in promoting your program/initiative on a larger scale (such as to make a promotional, edited video), contact Madi Franquiz to discuss logistics and costs. A professional videographer may need to be contracted to perform the work, and it is highly advisable to bring the videographer into your project early in the production process.

Food Services

The JSOM Special Event Registration Form includes a link to online information from Comet Catering, the on-campus catering program run by UT Dallas Dining Services. Please read about preferred vendors on UT Dallas’s Preferred Vendors page before making catering decisions for your events.

Special Setup and Takedown Requests

If you would like to:

• Use one of the portable green JSOM media backdrops (as seen here behind the dean)
• Move furniture on- or offstage in the Davidson Auditorium
• Set up chairs or tables
• Hang banners,

You need to email JSOMTFS@utdallas.edu with the event details and specific setup/takedown requirements. Please give the team adequate advance notice for event setup requests, as they often have multiple requests to manage on any given day. Thirty-six hours advance notice is sufficient, but a week is preferable, whenever possible.

If the request is one that the JSOM Facility Services team can handle, they will take charge and respond to the person who made the request. If they determine that the JSOM Facility Services Team cannot handle the request, you will need to submit a Facilities Work Request.

Facilities Management regularly fulfills work requests Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If work is required before or after those hours or on weekends, OVERTIME will be charged and must be arranged well in advance of the event.

Parking

Nearly all parking on the UT Dallas campus is by permit only. Enforcement is rigorous, and violators are ticketed. Learn more on the University’s Parking & Transportation Web page and by viewing the campus Parking Map.

If an individual or a few individuals are visiting you, there are four main parking options:

1. Visitors can present a photo ID at the UT Dallas Visitor Center to receive a one-day parking pass that allows them to park in any Green or Remote space on campus. (Visitors are limited to two visitor passes per week.)
2. For closer parking, visitors can park in any numbered, Pay-By-Space location (Lots F, G, I, K, Parking Structures 1, 3 and 4). Each Pay-By-Space location has a pay station that accepts credit- or debit-card payments.
3. Those who hold accounts with the mobile app service can use it to pay for a Pay-By-Space location. App service fees will apply.
4. Support staff can receive a monthly Department Coupon Code to provide to visitors for use in Pay-By-Space locations. Note that areas and centers that use this method will be charged accordingly.

If you are planning an event, there are multiple parking options — and fees — that depend on day of the week, time of day, location and more. Review the color-coded campus parking map, then contact Cris Aquino, director of parking and transportation, Ext. 4033, to find the option that best suits your needs and budget.

Be sure to discuss, in advance, with parking enforcement personnel how violations of event parking rules will be handled.

Police and Safety Considerations

Please review and use the UT Dallas Special Events Risk Assessment page to assess your needs.

The guidelines offer useful information if you:

• Will serve ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
• Will have EXHIBITORS OR VENDORS present
• Will have MINORS AS PARTICIPANTS
• Will use MUSICIANS OR OTHER ENTERTAINERS
• WILL CHARGE ADMISSION OR A REGISTRATION FEE AND COLLECT MONEY

The Special Events Risk Assessment Form is now a part of the JSOM Event form. While Special Events Risk Assessment Form must be completed for all events other than regularly scheduled classes between 10 and 30 days prior to your event, you now submit the JSOM Events form without having to submit a separate SERA form. Special events are coordinated through the Office of the Vice President for Administration, Ext. 2213.

Additional information and updates about risk assessment for special events may be found on the UT Dallas Special Events Risk Assessment page. For specific questions relating to the risk assessment, please contact Vanessa Balderrama.

IMPORTANT: The Special Events Risk Assessment and Alcohol Request form must be completed for all events other than regularly scheduled classes.

Treatment of Art and Sculpture in the JSOM Buildings

The Jindal School values the art and sculpture purchased and placed inside and outside the buildings. We expect those using our facilities to respect the care and placement of the individual pieces and their placement selection. Art and sculpture should not be altered/moved to suit individual group’s needs for facility space.

If your group has a concern as to whether your event setup will be hindered by the presence of the art, then another location should be considered.