Call for Sessions

Thank you for your interest. Session submission is now closed. Chairs will be notified in mid October regarding acceptance of their session. Chairs of confirmed sessions will receive further instructions at that time. The Call for Abstracts will go out in November.

Session chair responsibilities

Solicit abstracts & interact with authors: Once the sessions are established, chairs are asked to solicit at least six to eight abstracts to help form the session. A minimum of four abstracts are required for a session to be included in the final program. Sessions are most successful when the chairs recruit speakers well in advance of the December abstract submission deadline. All presenters must submit an abstract through the IAGLR & SCAS-SCSA 2026 Conference Portal once the Call for Abstracts is available. Session chairs will monitor the abstracts being submitted to their session and work with the authors to edit or modify as needed. Once abstracts have been accepted, session chairs are responsible for confirming acceptance and scheduling with each presenter.

Schedule presentations: If fewer than four presentations are received for a session, the program chair will consult with the session chair(s) either to combine the accepted abstracts with another session or to create a new session title to encompass similar abstracts included in other sessions. When all abstracts are assigned to a session, the session chairs will determine the order of presentations within their session and confirm scheduling with each presenter.

Run session: During the conference, session chairs are responsible for running their sessions. At least one chair must be present onsite to ensure their session runs smoothly and is successful for both the presenters and the audience. Session chairs are expected to introduce the session and each presenter, manage the time to ensure presentations adhere to the 20-minute time slots, and facilitate the question-and-answer period within the final five minutes of each time slot. Session chairs will also call attention to posters submitted to their session topic to help promote awareness of related presentations.

Financial responsibilities: All speakers, including session chairs, are required to register and pay to attend the conference. In addition, if a session chair is presenting, an abstract fee will be required as part of the abstract submission. Conference organizers are exploring, and will announce, pathways of support for individuals and groups that do not have the financial means to attend.

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A note about workshops

We plan to issue a separate Call for Workshops. What is the difference between a session and a workshop?

Session

• Included in Call for Abstracts to solicit abstracts for 20-minute presentation slots
• Requires at least four abstracts to be included in program
• Varies in length depending on number of abstracts
• Runs concurrently in daily tracks Tuesday-Friday of conference week

Workshop

• Associated event, such as a training
• Not included in Call for Abstracts
• Likely scheduled for Wednesday afternoon of conference week
• Generally runs for up to four hours
• Takes place in a lab, meeting room, or outdoor location, depending on topic and goals of workshop
• Check out IAGLR's IDEA+ Workshop Award for potential workshop support. The award aims to broaden participation in IAGLR by welcoming and involving people from historically marginalized communities. Award applications are due November 1.