Visiting Faculty in Promotional Materials

In recent years, I've increasingly been asked to work on/comment on drafts of various marketing materials for my school (brochures, websites, videos etc).  One question that often comes up - and I don't know if there's an established etiquette for this or not - is the boundaries of appropriate use of images of visiting professors in these materials, particularly when these visitors are permanently attached to another school.

I've not had a problem with including pictures of people who have visited to give presentations at conferences etc, because it's usually clear from the context of the photograph that they are presenting a paper, or sitting in the audience at a conference, or other conference-related function (eg lunch or dinner).  What I'm more confused about is the extent to which you could show a picture of someone visiting as a professor, say, teaching in a classroom, advising students in his/her office, sitting in a faculty meeting etc.

Is it misleading to show visiting professors in this context?  And are their home schools within their rights to complain if a visitor is shown in the brochure of another school?  Do any schools have policies on this?

Comments

[anon]

I can't see anything wrong with bragging about the presence of a visiting professor. They are teaching to your students, interacting with your faculty, and generally enriching the curriculum. Alumni contributions often pay for the chairs that attract prestigious visiting professors (as opposed to podium fillers). As long as it is clear that they are visiting and not a member of the permanent faculty so it isn't misleading future students or USnews rankers, it's fine by me. A school that attracts prominent visitors is likely a more vibrant intellectual place than a school that does not, all other things being equal.

I think the same thing about visiting scholars, as long as they are more than parking their boxes in your law school for a few months. If they participate in colloquia/workshops and are generally around, then that is a positive. It's just a question of not overclaiming it.

[Orin Kerr]

I agree with anon.