The protocol applies to events and meetings sponsored by any CALS department, center, or unit, and aligns with the UW-Madison event and meeting policy dated 8/14/2020. UW-Madison requirements must be met for all CALS-sponsored events, regardless of the location where they are held, and for all events held on campus or at UW facilities regardless of sponsorship. We continue to expect that any event or meeting that can be held remotely, will be held remotely.

An event is “any activity (including all meetings, internal or other), regardless of the location on or off university property, coordinated by an event host to bring people together, outside of the formal classroom experience.”

Registered Student Organization events follow a separate approval process.

Consistent with the campus policy, CALS expects the Public Health Madison and Dane County order to be followed even when an event sponsored by a CALS unit is outside of Dane County unless that location has more stringent requirements. In that case, the more local stringent guidelines should be followed.

For events held in CALS facilities, the event host must develop a plan consistent with the existing approved research and Smart Restart plans. For other locations, the event host should consult the local building manager. A CALS event planning checklist and more general campus event planning resources are available.

To ensure UW-Madison Accounting Services approves your event expenses, the event host may need to submit an Official Function, an Expenses Pre-Approval Form, or both. Please consult your CALS Business Services Accountant to ensure all necessary forms are submitted.

Prospective event hosts must submit an event plan, as well as any Official Function or Expense Pre-approval Form as needed to the appropriate approver.

Review and approval process

• For events that follow current Public Health Madison and Dane County orders (regardless of location), the department chair/center director/unit director will have approval authority delegated by the dean.
• For events that require an exemption from current Public Health Madison and Dane County orders (regardless of occurring within or outside of Dane County), plans must first be submitted to the chair/center director/unit director. Upon unit approval, plans must be submitted to Senior Associate Dean Mark Rickenbach for final approval.