ULS committee wants to draw bigger speakers

The committee that runs Fresno State’s University Lecture Series wants to spend more per speaker to bring bigger names to campus beginning next year.

ULS director Dianne Dickerson said the group wants to be able to put down between $30,000 and $40,000 for each speaker, with a maximum of $50,000.

The school’s current speaker fees, which don’t cover lodging and transportation, run about $15,000 a name, she said, and higher fees would draw a higher profile.

“Joyce Carol Oates filled the auditorium,” she said. “We want others like her.”

Dickerson said the school will spend a total of $55,500 by the end of the year.

“There’s not a cap,” she said, but bigger price tags mean fewer speakers.

Some names the committee is considering are Amy Tan, author of The Joy-Luck Club, and Daniel Handler, who writes under the pen name Lemony Snicket.

Dickerson said the committee won’t decide until the end of spring semester.

“There’s still a drawing board,” she said.

The University Lecture Series is funded by the University Student Union, the Associated Students, the Provost’s Office, private donors, grants and an endowment from science professors, for speakers in science fields.

- Laban Pelz

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