Dear Colleagues,
Faculty who are not requesting Beyond Colgate funds but wish to reserve a van for a class outing, please scroll down to the end of this email.
Beyond Colgate
As you finalize your course plans, I invite you to submit applications to the Beyond Colgate program, which supports course-related travel to local and regional destinations for fall 2026.
Please note that funding is limited and allocated on a rolling basis, with priority given to faculty who have not recently availed themselves of this resource. Barring exceptional circumstances, faculty will not be granted Beyond Colgate funds for multiple courses in a single semester.
A brief proposal for funding should be sent to Danny Barreto (dbarreto@colgate.edu), Associate Dean of the Faculty for Global and Local Initiatives, and Cassidy Rodman (crodman@colgate.edu), and should include the following information:
- The course number and title.
- The nature of the trip, and how the trip supports the academic goals of the course.
- Number of participants (students and faculty).
- Location and desired date. If your dates are flexible and you are open to sharing transportation costs with another class, please feel free to mention that in the proposal. Please also be thoughtful when planning dates of travel to minimize disruption to other courses (see below).
- An estimated budget, including transportation and meals. If you will be driving a Colgate van, rental costs are $50 per day plus the estimated gas mileage. Please use the following to calculate meal expenses:
- For trips that include only one meal, a maximum of $20 per diem for each person should be used.
- For trips that include 2 or more meals, please itemize the meals using the following rates: $10 breakfast / $10 lunch / $20 dinner for a maximum of $40/person.
- Possible funding from departments or programs, including any endowed or discretionary departmental funds available to help defray these costs. (Please consult your department/program chair regarding the availability of such funds).
Preference will be given to travel that is integral to the course and listed on the syllabus. As these funds are limited, we encourage you to submit proposals before the start of the term, as priority will be given to early applications. We will seek to support class trips when unforeseen opportunities arise after the start of term, but we cannot guarantee that all requests will be approved. The funding limit is $2,500 per class.
Transportation Reminders
- For Beyond Colgate travel, please use chartered buses (contact info: Hale Transportation 315-853-8670 or Wade Tours 518-355-4500), public transportation, or Colgate vans (see below for reservation instructions). Should you choose to use Hale Transportation, please create an order through Unimarket. Instructions can be found here.
- If you want to hire transportation for field trips that are within a 200-mile radius of Hamilton, faculty can contact the transportation department to check potential availability for these day trips. Vans hold 11 passengers plus the driver and buses hold 22 plus the driver. For an initial inquiry of availability, a pricing quote and scheduling, please send an email to transportation@colgate.edu with the following information:
- Date of trip
- Destination
- Number of passengers
- Pickup time at the location
- Estimated return time to Colgate
- Students should be discouraged from traveling by personal vehicle. Where such means of transportation is unavoidable, we require that each student sign and submit a risk management form before departure (it is the responsibility of the faculty member to distribute and collect before the trip, and discard these forms after the trip). Faculty are expected to travel with students to and from their destinations given the pedagogical approach of student engagement. Any exception should be approved by the PDoF office.
- To minimize disruption to academic schedules, we strongly urge faculty, whenever possible, to schedule trips on days when regularly scheduled classes do not meet (after 2:10 p.m. Fridays and during weekends).
- For those who may be interested in learning more about and/or planning class trips that are tied to the upstate area, please contact Julie Dudrick (jdudrick@colgate.edu) of the Upstate Institute..
Short-Term Trips
As a part of our global and local initiatives, the Dean of the Faculty will support a limited number of short-term trips. These awards are normally limited to $5,000 (except in unique circumstances) and are meant to support course-related travel in fall 2026. Short-term trips are those that generally involve overnight stays for up to one week and exceed the Beyond Colgate allocation for a course. The trip must significantly enhance the course objectives. Proposals for short-term trips should follow the same format as those for Beyond Colgate. Questions about this program should be directed to Danny Barreto, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Global and Local Initiatives (dbarreto@colgate.edu).
Van Request Policy for Academic Departments
To request Colgate vans, please contact Shelby King in the Physics and Astronomy department. In order to ensure that your request is confirmed prior to the start of classes, kindly email van requests to Shelby by Friday August 14, along with the following information:
Dept/Class
Faculty member
Faculty member extension or cell number for planning
Driver name
Driver or other cell number in the event of an emergency
Number of vans
Date(s)
Budget code
Destination
Anticipated number of passengers
Driver(s), if known — note that all drivers (faculty, staff, and students) must have prior authorization to operate any Colgate University-owned, leased, or rented vehicles. Authorization procedures can be found in Colgate’s Driver Safety and Motor Vehicle Use Policy. Authorization must be renewed bi-annually. You may call the Environmental Health and Safety Office in advance of your reservation to confirm whether your authorization is current.
Please note: All fleet vehicles are located at a designated parking area at 100 Hamilton Street.
Shelby will work with facilities and academic departments to resolve any potential conflicts. Faculty will receive confirmation of van reservations by Monday, August 24, from Shelby. After August 24, van reservations and waiting lists will be coordinated by facilities using this online van reservation request form.
Regards,
Danny Barreto
Associate Dean of the Faculty for Global and Local Initiatives