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| Vol. 16, No. 38 | Aug. 7, 1997 |
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| Vol. 16, No. 38 | Aug. 7, 1997 |
Some people unfamiliar with UD may consider the summer months as "off time," used to relax and regroup for the start of the new academic year.
They should check out the Conference Services staff.
According to Polly Weir, conference services, during the academic year the University serves as host to a growing number of weekday and weekend meetings, conferences and social events.
But, in the summer, when residential facilities become available, the campus caters to a steady flow of conference visitors. This summer, they include cheerleaders, Amtrak employees, bankers, lawyers, academic conferees, school teachers, the Governor's Sc hool for Excellence, Institute for Organization Management executives, Stonier School of Banking, American Chemical Society, the United Church of Christ and the U.S. Army Reserves Nurses Training School.
"We operate throughout the year," Weir said, "but our peak season is summer. That's when we do the large amount of our convention-type business. From June through August, we become a full-time, residential conference site."
Weir explained that the availability of the 39 Guest Apartments in Christiana Towers enables several-day-long conferences and events throughout the year.
"The fact that we have these excellent guest facilities is a great asset," Weir said.
Some reservations are made up to five years in advance, said Suzanne Foose, who handles outside sales. Other clients may call a few months before an event. There also are long-time users who keep coming back-such as the Stonier School of Banking that mark ed its 12th annual return to Newark this summer and the Chamber of Commerce Associates Executives, which has held meetings on the Newark campus for at least that many years.
While groups can be of any size, Weir said the smallest was a five-person committee that used a room in the Goodstay Center. The largest is the 1,200-person Taiwanese American Conference that comes to Clayton Hall every other year.
Depending upon a group's specific needs, Weir said, conference staff may be responsible for lodging, transportation, meals, registration, recreation and coordination of the conference presentations.
"We don't take a lot of vacation time during those months," Weir said.
Appropriate rooms and buildings throughout the entire campus are available for use. But, Weir stressed, UD academic locations are used throughout the school year, but only after college class schedules are completed.
Currently, the 1997-98 marketing plan targeting specific audiences for the different sites is being developed. These audiences might use conference facilities for corporate training, religious, educational and academic conferences, government and legal me etings and social events.
There has been a steady increase in conference business at UD, and Weir said she expects it to continue growing because of increased awareness resulting from outside sales efforts, targeted marketing and growing satisfaction with UD's service and faciliti es.
"I really like being able to meet new people," Foose said, "and I know I can give them what they need, because the University's facilities are so diverse. With facilities on all three campuses, we can provide everyone's needs."
"There's prestige associated with the University of Delaware," Weir said. "We market our unique environment, and we are providing an excellent product, not only in service but in our facilities as well. And, 99 percent of our clients say they are very sat isfied, and that's very rewarding."
For information on conference facilities, call 831-2214.
| --Ed Okonowicz |
