USM Conference Planners Win Top International Prize
April 15, 2004
The University of Southern Maine's Department of Conferences
has won the nation's top award for conference planning and
management for its coordination of the 2003 International
Conference on the History of Cartography, co-sponsored by
USM's Osher Map Library and the Harvard Map Collection. It
was held June 2003, in Cambridge, Mass., and in Portland.
The Outstanding Institutional Achievement Award for 2003,
presented to USM by the Association for Collegiate Conference
and Event Directors International, cited the conference organizers'
expertise in coordinating multiple conference locales, developing
effective electronic registration, and providing detailed
assistance in housing and travel information for a largely
international audience.
"We are so grateful for this recognition," said USM Director
of Conferences Elizabeth Morin. "It says that we're setting
the pace for how conference operations are being run in a
worldwide arena." The USM Department of Conference plans nearly
20 major conferences annually.
Morin noted that USM's limited on-campus conference facilities
have prompted planners to be resourceful in developing a wide
network of off-site contacts. "Ultimately, that has been our
strength," she said. "We have developed expertise in working
with hotels, meeting sites, transportation and food services,
all of which came into play during this conference."
The construction of the new Abromson Community Education
Center at USM -- due to be completed next year -- will add
meeting spaces, conference rooms and a 500-seat auditorium
to the Portland campus, allowing conference planners to bring
more conferences in-house. "It will be a tremendous resource
for the whole community," said Morin.
The Association for Collegiate Conference and Event Directors
International, established in 1980, is a leading professional
association for college conference directors and professionals.
For more information on their 2003 award, visit: acced-i.colostate.edu/imis_web/Staticcontent/1/awars04.htm
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