Reserve Duffield Hall

Reservation Requests

Please review the policies listed below prior to submitting your reservation request. Reservations and availability for use of Duffield Hall spaces are placed using the university scheduling system event form. Each space is defined by a location code and more than one location can be requested within one form:

Duffield Hall Location Codes
DUFWKDYTABLE: Duffield Atrium Workday Table
DUFATR: Duffield Atrium
DUFXPLZ: Lacroute Plaza

DUFMAT: Mattin's Terrace
DUF254: The Staley Seminar Room (254)
DUF354: McCurdy Seminar Room (354)
DUF340: Young Colloquium Room (340)

Visit the College of Engineering Centers and Facilities Reservations page.

Reservation Policies

Events and use of space may be scheduled between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., seven days a week. Events can be booked no more than one year in advance. Any event that requires food or that falls outside of the regular work hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance and have all forms fully completed at least two weeks in advance. No more than one after-hours atria event (beyond 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. window) will be scheduled per day to limit time required by support personnel.

While reservations are on a first come, first served basis, priority will be given in the following order: College of Engineering events and Engineering departments, other Cornell departments, Cornell-affiliated groups sponsored by a Cornell department and Cornell student organizations. Any group to be bumped by a higher priority user will be notified as soon as we are notified of the change.

According to New York State's Alcohol Beverage Law, it is illegal to serve alcoholic beverages to anyone under the age of 21 years. The group renting the Duffield Hall space is responsible for observing and enforcing this law and all other policies associated with campus events. Food and beverages may be served in the Duffield Hall atria; on the plaza; in first, second, and third floor conference rooms; and in the colloquium room. Eating or drinking is not permitted in the elevators or lab areas. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in Duffield Hall.

Catering Policies

Only professional caterers and equipment / furniture rental companies pre-approved by Cornell University may be used. The university has a process for approving events that must be followed. Please go to https://activities.cornell.edu/EventReg/ for event information and procedure for the University Event Registration Form. A list of approved caterers is available online. No other personal or self-catering by event participants will be allowed.

All caterers accepted into Duffield Hall must have liability insurance coverage up to $1,000,000, must have Cornell University listed by name on their policy, and must have the appropriate health licenses. Copies of this documentation must be on file with Cornell's Risk Management office. Please contact Cornell Risk Management for full details: 607-254-1575, risk_mgmt@cornell.edu.

Please forward any additional forms and insurance documents to the Duffield Hall Events Coordinator, Cornell University, 206 Ward Center, Ithaca, NY 14853.

All arrangements with caterers are the responsibility of the Event Planner, who will keep the Duffield Hall Events Coordinator informed of the caterer's arrival time and other event requirements. Duffield Hall provides no tables, chairs, dining wares, utensils, or other provisions for food service: contact Cornell Dining at dining@cornell.edu for information on access to food preparation areas. The furniture that is used in the normal configuration of the Duffield Hall public spaces is available for use.

Audio-Visual Policies

Audio-visual, video conferencing, and other communications technology capabilities are available for use under the responsibility of the event coordinator.

The Young Colloquium Room has a rear projection SMART Board capable of displaying from a user provided laptop or from a built-in networked computer with USB access and wireless keyboard and mouse. The Smart Board provides a high level of interaction and electronic capture of meeting notes and annotations among other features. The colloquium room also has video conferencing and DVD/VCR capability. Both seminar rooms have computer projection capability. A video conferencing system and DVD/VCR player are also available in the McCurdy Seminar Room.

We have instituted the following guidelines regarding noise and music for Duffield Hall events:

No amplified music in the atria between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on non-holiday weekdays.
Music setup must be approved; preferred direction for music in the Baum Atrium is away from Upson.
Event planners for events with amplified sound or expected high sound levels are responsible for keeping doors between Duffield and Upson closed during their event. This includes Upson first floor doors and fire doors at bridges.
No other audio-visual equipment is provided.

Contact the facilities coordinator for procedures and permissions associated with the use of networking, AV, music, posting and other special considerations.

Safety at Duffield Hall

All fire and general security procedures must be followed. If an emergency occurs, notify responders via emergency phone, 911, fire pull box, or other means. If a fire or gas alarm activates, you must leave the building immediately. In these situations the elevator will not be available, and guests will proceed down the fire stairs. University security or emergency personnel will take charge of all evacuation procedures during this period.

Event organizers have overall responsibility for event safety and are required to follow university safety policies. The event coordinator and any contracted service provider (for example, the caterer) shall follow the requirements and guidelines which discuss general event safety and contact information.

Additional building specific event safety limitations must be followed including the placement and proper securing of outdoor cooking equipment and propane tanks and special limitations for where food can be staged and furniture placed so as to not block room and building exit paths. These must be specifically discussed and approved by the building manager or Cornell Environmental Health and Safety before the event.

If more clarification is needed please contact duffield_reservations@ece.cornell.edu