In accordance with the university’s Gift Acceptance Policy, the University Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees may approve the establishment of new endowments for named faculty positions and honorifics in recognition of major gift support.  The amount required to create these positions is determined by the Committee.  

An endowed named Chair may be created when a gift is sufficient to add a new faculty position (i.e., to adequately fund the salary and benefits of the new faculty line).   The minimum amount is $2,000,000.  

An endowed named Distinguished Professorship may be created to recognize an existing faculty member for their contributions to advance the University through academic research, accomplishments in teaching, and/or leadership with special projects or initiatives.  The minimum amount is $1,000,000.

An endowed named Faculty Fellow fund may be created to empower and acknowledge existing faculty members who are leading special initiatives or programs.   The minimum amount for this type of fund is $250,000.

An endowed named Faculty Scholar fund may be created to recognize existing faculty members who show great promise in their teaching and scholarship. The minimum amount for this type of fund is $100,000. 

A donor or group of donors may choose a field of study associated with these positions and honorifics through discussions with the dean of the respective college or school.  In the case of an endowed chair (new position), the President and Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs must approve the creation of the new position prior to acceptance of the gift.  Specific criteria for the selection of the positions and honorifics will ultimately be determined by the relevant dean, in consultation with the Provost and in consideration of the donor’s/donors’ wishes.

Appointments of chairs, professorships, fellows, and scholars will be made by the Provost from recommendations provided by the appropriate dean. The appointment will be awarded for a term of up to three years and may be renewed as long as the faculty member is employed by the University and meeting the expectations of the role.  Prior to reappointment, the relevant dean and Provost will evaluate and determine whether to renew the position or award it to another faculty member.

The relevant dean, in consultation with the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, will determine how the funding for each appointed position will be used. Generally, it should be limited to the following purposes, or combination of following purposes: compensation enhancements (in the case of endowed chairs); research support; pertinent travel or other professional development activities; and/or student-faculty collaborative research. 

Each year, those faculty members holding an endowed chair or endowed professorship will be expected to offer a public lecture on campus, typically reporting on how their work has contributed to the advancement of the University.   All faculty appointed as the beneficiary of any of these faculty support endowments (endowed chair, endowed professorship, endowed faculty fellow or endowed faculty scholar) will submit an annual report on their contributions to the relevant dean, Provost, and Vice President for University Advancement, which may be presented to the donor(s) who helped fund their positions.   Further, these faculty members will be expected to use and promote their new titles whenever appropriate, e.g., email signatures, business cards, bios, introductions, etc. Finally, they may be asked to meet with or communicate with these donors from time to time, as coordinated by the University Advancement Office.