Policies for Lunch Hour Programming

 On September 13, 2019, College of Law Dean Verna L. Williams charged a group of faculty, administrators and students (the “Sprawl Committee” or the “Committee”) to develop organizing principles for holding events at the College of Law to reduce the abundance of organizational meetings, speakers and presentations during the lunch hour (“lunch hour programming”). The Committee met three times during the fall 2019 semester and one time during the spring 2020 semester.

These resulting policies were recommended by the committee and adopted by the College in 2020.

1. The College should not allow any events, meetings, programs, or classes (including make-up classes) to conflict with signature College of Law lectures, conferences, and symposia (provided they are open to students), including the Schwartz Lecture, Chesley Lecture (formerly known), Marx Lecture, Constitution Day Lecture, Schott Lecture, and Judge-in-Residence Lecture.
   
2. The College should eliminate all lunch hour programming on Mondays, unless it is a scheduled make-up class or when Constitution Day falls on a Monday.
3. The College should limit lunch hour programming to no more than two outside speaker events on any day.
4. The College should not schedule any classes during the lunch hour, unless it is a scheduled make-up class.
5. Faculty and staff should submit dates for lunch hour programming by July 1 for the fall semester and November 1 for the spring semester. Students should submit dates for lunch hour programming by September 1 for the fall semester and January 8 for the spring semester.
6. Faculty and staff should not submit dates between July 1 and September 1 (for the fall semester) and between November 1 and January 8 (for the spring semester). After the student deadline for the upcoming semester has passed, faculty, staff and students may submit requests for lunch hour programming at least two weeks in advance, subject to other limitations as described above.
7. The Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Diversity may grant an exception to any of the principles above and allow for lunch hour programming that addresses unforeseeable current events, or to host a speaker that would significantly contribute to the life and reputation of the College.