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A program endowed by the Friedman Family to foster better understanding and communication between and among earthquake practitioners and academics

Background

Richard Eisner speaking at the Universidad Autónoma de México in 2007

In 1996 the EERI Endowment Committee, now known as the Special Projects and Initiatives Committee, first established a Visiting Professional Program. The purpose of this program was to match potential visiting professionals with host institutions, usually universities, for a two to three day workshop of current topics related to earthquake engineering and earthquake risk reduction. This exchange is meant to be part lecture and part informal discussion with faculty and students. The visiting professionals come from a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, earth science, seismology, architecture, planning, public policy and the social sciences.
The objectives of this program are to:

• improve the understanding of students and faculty of the active professional earthquake engineering and risk reduction community;
• enhance the understanding of the multi-disciplinary nature of earthquake engineering;
• increase the professional's understanding of the educational process;
• utilize the unique intellectual resources of EERI to broker useful relationships; and
• use the resources of EERI to help students understand and consider professional careers associated with earthquake engineering and earthquake risk reduction.

 

David A. Friedman

In 1998, upon the death of Nicholas (Nick) Forell, his family asked that donations be made in his memory to sponsor the Visiting Professional program. Nick had been instrumental in creating this program. Nick's passion and desire for knowledge created an atmosphere in which he challenged himself and others to continually learn and grow and it is in this spirit that his family felt these donations would carry on Nick's wishes. EERI received over $10,000 in donations and was able to send 10 professionals to speak at universities throughout the country.
In 2001, David A. Friedman, of Forell/Elsesser Engineers, and his family endowed the program with $250,000. This generous gift was made with the intention that sufficient interest would be generated to keep the program running in perpetuity. At the time the gift was made, the name of the program was formally changed to the Friedman Family Visiting Professional Program. David's participation as a visiting professional prompted him to endow this program, to ensure that it benefit students and professionals in the future, as he found the experience mutually rewarding.
The Friedman family has a history of social activism and philanthropic support of nonprofit organizations in the areas of economic development, homelessness, and housing. The Family has also endowed the Howard A. Friedman Visiting Professional program in the Department of Architecture, College of Environmental Design, at the University of California, Berkeley.
Since 1997, 15 universities have participated in the program; 29 professionals have made over 43 visits.

Procedures for Student Chapters

• Review the list of individuals who have agreed to participate as a visiting professional and select three according to preference. You may also request an EERI member who may not be currently listed, but you will need to contact the EERI office for approval.
• List several dates your chapter is available to host a visiting professional.
• Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with your information.
• Sonya will contact the individuals to determine who is available to accommodate your request.
• Once a professional is identified, Sonya will contact you to confirm.

Requirements for Host Institutions

• Once the professional has been confirmed, your chapter should now contact the visiting professional directly to confirm specific details of the visit.
• Provide local transportation for the visiting professional.
• Arrange for social activities, which may include a dinner with faculty.
• Recommend lodging and assisting with travel logistics for the visiting professional.
• Send background materials to the visiting professional before the visit that d provide information on the program and topics currently being studied. This can be useful in relating examples from professional practice to current course work.
• Advertise the lecture and social activities.
• Upon completion of the visit, submit an electronic report, including pictures if available, to EERI for the EERI web site and the EERI Newsletter.

In planning the visit, the faculty will need to decide whether they want to relinquish a teaching period(s) to the visiting professional or schedule a separate stand-alone talk(s). We encourage using the visiting professional in design studios and other hands-on classes, as well as in a lecture class.
There is no financial obligation to the host institution, although universities are encouraged to host a meal for the visiting professional, faculty and students. Should the host department wish to share in covering lodging or other costs, this would be most welcome and would further extend the resources available in the program. EERI will reimburse the visiting professional's expenses not covered by the Chapter.

Procedures for Visiting Professionals

• Send EERI your updated CV as needed and photo if available.
• Let EERI know if there are some definite blackout dates that you will be unavailable to speak (if possible).
• Prepare appropriate lectures (and written materials if appropriate).
• Be willing to participate in discussions with the students.
• Encourage students to ask questions freely.
• Be willing to review work with individual graduate students.
• Make your own travel arrangements, using EERI policy guidelines.
• Upon completion of your trip, use EERI's reimbursement form, attach all your receipts and mail it to the EERI office.
• Send a report or copy of your lecture, including pictures if available, to EERI in electronic format.

Limited funds are available from the Friedman Family gift to reimburse the visiting professional's travel and per diem expenses. It is our goal to maximize the existing funds to allow us to send out as many professionals as possible. We encourage you to make use of other resources where available and try to combine travel for EERI with other business. In lieu of reimbursement, travel and per diem expenses can be treated as a charitable, tax-deductible contribution to EERI.

EERI's reimbursement policy for this program is as follows:

• Allowable Transportation Expenses
  1. Travel by commercial carrier (economy fare) to and from destination. Reservations should be made at least 30 days or more, prior to the visit, whenever possible, to receive available discounts. Original ticketed receipts are the only acceptable documentation for reimbursement (itineraries are not acceptable documentation, except for e-tickets with proof of payment.)
  2. Auto expenses will be reimbursed at the IRS allowable rate per mile (currently 40.5 cents) when commercial transportation is not available or convenient. Rental cars and their authorization must be obtained prior to travel and are only reimbursable when other commercial transportation is unavailable. Tolls and parking will be reimbursed with original receipts.
  3. Necessary taxi or public ground transportation will be reimbursed with original receipts.
• Allowable Meals and Lodging
  1. Hotel cost at prevailing local standard rate (single), limited to evening of meeting and/or the prior night. Receipts must support all expenditures.
  2. Meals associated with meeting/project not to exceed a total of $35.00 per day.
• Reimbursement Form and Policy
  EERI Reimbursement Form (20kB Excel file)EERI Reimbursement Policy (60kB)