Gaede Institute | Programs The Conversation on the Liberal Arts

A Word About Format

As the title of our event suggests, these days are intended to be an extended conversation rather than a traditional academic conference, and participants will be coming from a wide variety of backgrounds and professional roles. With these considerations in mind, we recommend the following, especially as you prepare for concurrent panels.

• For All Participants
  Please come to the panels having read and processed the authors’ work and prepared to engage in discussion with your colleagues. The full texts of concurrent papers are available on the conference website under “Conversation Schedule" (above). We encourage you to treat concurrent and plenary discussions as real conversations, in which all are welcome to initiate and respond, rather than as traditional Q&A sessions between “experts” and “audience.”
   
• For Concurrent Presenters
  Plan to use no more than five minutes to summarize your paper, focusing on key ideas and areas for further discussion, and taking care to make your work accessible to a broad audience of non-specialists. As a part of these introductory remarks, we encourage you to pose some formal, well-considered questions for discussion among your colleagues. Paper handouts are welcome; AV equipment will not be provided except by special arrangement.
   
• For Moderators
  We've allowed 60 minutes for each concurrent session. Please politely enforce five-minute limits for individual presentations, leaving the majority of the time for conversation. Beyond this recommendation, format is at your discretion. Feel free to manage the time and discussion leadership in a manner that suits the room and the material at hand. Do try, of course, to balance the conversation so as to give roughly equal time to each paper, and be prepared to seed discussion with your own questions or comments if conversation flags. Please make every effort to end on time, giving your colleagues ample chance for a break before the next session.

Flying
The Santa Barbara Airport is just 20 minutes from campus, and 15 minutes from waterfront hotels. Rental car and taxi services are conveniently located on site. Los Angeles International Airport is a 75-minute drive from Santa Barbara; from there, the Santa Barbara Airbus ($50 one way) takes you directly to the complex of waterfront hotels that will be served by our campus shuttle. Amtrak is not cheaper or more convenient, as it requires a shuttle to and from LA Union Station. However, the train provides spectacular views of the LA basin and Pacific coastline.

Driving and Parking
Driving directions to campus may be found here. A map of campus may be found here. Parking at Westmont is free and no permit is necessary in any lot. The best parking options are the Global Leadership Center Lot or the Kerr Student Center Parking Lot (P1 on map):

• Global Leadership Center Lot: Enter through the lower campus gate (hard left turn off Cold Springs Road), then make an immediate right to follow a smaller campus road parallel to Cold Springs. That road turns sharply left at a collection of golden-tan buildings; that is the Global Leadership Center. Additional parking is available as you continue on this road back toward the main campus loop.
• Kerr Student Center Lot: This lot usually has plentiful parking, but is slightly further from the GLC. To get there, bypass the lower entrance, then bear left at the fork in Cold Springs Rd., then left again to go through the large stone upper campus gate. Once you're through the gate, make an immediate left into a large parking lot (if you find yourself on a circular drive bordering a large lawn, you've gone slightly too far). From there, registration at the GLC is just to the south; from the lot, walk downhill on the path bordering Kerr Student Center, then bear left across the long footbridge. The GLC is the collection of golden-tan buildings just across the bridge.

Train
The Santa Barbara train station is at the lower end of downtown, a short taxi ride, or 20-minute walk, from East Beach hotels.

Campus Shuttle
Shuttle service will be provided between campus and the hotels listed below. Shuttles will run at the beginning and end of the program each day (see "Shuttle Information" tab for more).

Accommodations
The campus shuttle will serve only the hotels adjacent to East Beach (see the "Shuttle Information" tab for shuttle stop locations). You may wish to stay elsewhere, but please be aware that you will be responsible for arranging your own transportation to and from conference events. Shuttle-line hotels include:

• The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
• Santa Barbara Inn
• Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara (served directly by the Santa Barbara Airbus from LAX)
• The Inn at East Beach
• Cabrillo Inn at the Beach
• Pacific Crest Santa Barbara
• Motel Six

The shuttle will run between campus and select local hotels. City buses and local trolleys stop at these locations, too, so be sure to look for the Westmont shuttle. There are two shuttle stops: East Beach and Hilton, both on Cabrillo Boulevard (see below for precise locations).

Shuttle Stops

• The East Beach stop is just to the east of the Hyatt, and serves all waterfront lodging except the Hilton. From these hotels, most participants will walk to the beachfront boulevard (Cabrillo) and turn left. The stop is a bus turnout at the corner of Cabrillo and Ninos Dr. View in Google Maps
• The Hilton stop is just to the east of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, and serves this hotel only. Exit the front of the Hilton, toward the beach. Turn left and walk along the waterfront until you see a large rainbow arch sculpture. The shuttle stop is directly in front of this sculpture on Cabrillo Boulevard. View in Google Maps

Shuttle Schedule
Shuttles run once at the beginning and once at the end of each program day:

Download campus map (PDF)