Pardee keynote symposia are special events of broad interest to the geoscience community. Examples of appropriate topics include those on the leading edge in a scientific discipline or area of public policy, those that address broad fundamental problems, provide new interdisciplinary insights, or focus on global problems.

Selection is competitive. The primary criteria are proposal excellence, coupled with the Annual Program Committee's mandate to schedule a good mix of topics of interest to the GSA and Associated Society membership. Depending on submissions, four to eight half-day, non-concurrent sessions will be offered. All speakers will be invited by the conveners.

Funding from the Joseph T. Pardee Memorial Fund is available for each Pardee Symposia to assist in attracting the best speakers. In the past, this funding has ranged from $2,000 to $7,200 and can be used to defray travel and registration costs for high-level speakers who would not otherwise attend GSA. Proposals should include a preliminary budget, using the budget template provided. The funding is restricted to educational advancement in the field of geology, and the amount each year is set by the Annual Program Committee.

Proposals: Proposals must have a coherent and compelling description; a well-formed plan for the structure and format of the symposium; and a list of proposed invitees. Proposers should specify whether the invitees have already been contacted or whether the list is tentative. It is important that the proposal include a clear justification for why the session or event should have "Keynote" status. Evaluation criteria: the Annual Program Committee will rank the proposals based on their scientific and/or topical merit, the completeness of the plan, the proposers' attention to issues of diversity and inclusivity in their choice of presenters, and innovativeness and/or appeal of the format and proposed speakers.

Any individual, GSA member or non-member, is welcome to submit a proposal. Deadline for submittals: 11:59 PM, Tuesday, 15 January 2013, (Pacific Standard Time)

This is a firm deadline.

NO proposals will be accepted after that date.

Web submission is required!

Review: Pardee Keynote Symposia proposals are reviewed by the Annual Program Committee (APC). Affiliation with a Division, Associated Society, or other group will not be considered during the review process. You will be informed of the outcome after the APC's spring meeting, typically held in early March.

Scheduling: AIf your proposal is accepted as a Pardee Keynote Symposium for the GSA Annual Meeting, you will be notified of the day and time the session will be held. The APC makes all scheduling decisions for the Pardee sessions. In submitting a Pardee Keynote proposal, the convener (and any affiliated group) agrees that any half-day, Sunday through Wednesday, is acceptable.

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