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Session 47 - The Shapley Visiting Lectureship Program.
Topical, Oral session, Tuesday, June 09
Friars,
From September, 1991 through June, 1994 the Harlow Shapley Visiting Lectureships Program was administered from the University of Texas at Austin. Seventy-five visits [selected from 87 applications] were made in the 1991 - 92 program. Sixty-four visits [selected from 91 applications] were made in 1992 - 93. Recognizing that the Shapley Endowment Fund was not being increased at a rate which allowed for inflation, new cost-cutting measures went into effect for the 1993 - 94 program. These resulted in a cut-back in both solicitation of colleges and assignment of lecturers; twenty-seven visits [selected from 42 requests] were scheduled with the funding allocated by the AAS Council for twenty visits. Several efforts were made between 1991 and 1994 to locate additional outside funding for the Program. The program director had several discussions with the National Science Foundation concerning the efficacy of the program in provided advice concerning astronomy instruction and a higher profile for astronomers at two year colleges. Another tactic was to solicit donations from the AAS membership; the request for the Shapley Program was one of the first items listed on membership dues statements as a possible separate donation item. The first donation request went out with the annual membership mailing in late 1993.
