Endowments Build UT Dallas’ Future
At the heart of every great university are scholars whose work is supported by endowed funds. Endowed professorships and chairs create opportunities for UT Dallas to attract and retain distinguished professors who will enhance students’ academic experiences and the reputation of the University. Endowed positions recognize outstanding faculty, acknowledge their professional standing and provide support for the conduct of scholarly work and research. Endowments exist in perpetuity and are part of the long-term capital base of the University. Earnings from the endowment are an ongoing source of support, despite fluctuations in the economy. A strong endowment allows the University to plan for the future while continuing to drive innovation and research.
The University is grateful to the individuals, corporations and foundations that support excellence through these positions. Endowed positions and the associated minimum funding level required to establish such positions are as follows:
- Distinguished Chair: $3 million
- Chair: $2 million
- Distinguished Professorship: $1 million
- Professorship: $500,000
Creating an endowed fund at UT Dallas is an investment in a strong, successful future. Endowed gifts are invested, not spent, and the distributions provide a consistent source of support.
If you are interested in establishing an endowed fund, please visit:
Office of Development and Alumni Relations, SPN10
800 W. Campbell Road
Richardson, TX 75080
972-883-2295
The number of endowment funds has increased steadily from 100 in 2004 to 797 in 2022.
What is an endowed chair or professorship?
It is the highest academic award that the University can bestow on a faculty member, and it lasts as long as the University exists. Thus, it is both an honor to the named holder of the appointment and also an enduring tribute to the donor who establishes it.
The Benefits:
To the University
Endowed faculty professorships and chairs are crucial for recruiting and retaining the highest-quality faculty. The greatest institutions have the best minds, the most-creative researchers and the most-engaged teachers. Building a mighty base of faculty talent enriches the academic environment, which attracts the brightest students.
To the Professors
Recognizing the continued contributions of senior-level faculty as well as providing funds to push the frontiers of their scholarship are key functions of the endowed positions. The funds can propel research, help pay student workers or create opportunities for collaboration with scholars around the world.
To the Students
One professor or chair can touch hundreds of lives through the courses they teach, the students they mentor, or through their own academic work. Having endowed faculty means students get to rub elbows with the most talented scholars in the world. Students have the opportunity to work in research labs, for example. They do not learn only from textbooks, but from the real world of innovation and discovery.
To Businesses and Corporations
In a rapidly changing world, corporations realize the pace is often driven by the private sector, but much of the long-term thinking, basic research and most fundamental discoveries occur inside universities. Corporations support endowed chairs to give back to institutions that provide them with creative talent. The relationship also connects corporations with professors, researchers and students who can inspire innovation and creative ideas in a competitive environment.
To Private Donors
Donors provide funds for the overall improvement of the University, but some have personal interests in specific areas of study. By funding endowed chairs, donors can convene the brightest minds to focus on particular problems or issues and spur advances in those areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does an endowed chair do for the University?
In American higher education, endowed faculty professorships and chairs have become the gold standard for recruiting and retaining faculty. The reality is that if we wish to keep the very best faculty, it’s crucial that we have endowed professorships and chairs. That has become an expectation of truly exceptional teachers and scholars. No question, UT Dallas is in the hunt, competing for, recruiting and retaining the very best scholars in the nation. This tool in our toolbox — endowed faculty professorships and chairs — is essential if we are going to continue to excel as an institution.
Q: What does holding a named chair mean to a faculty member?
One of the key ingredients of endowed professorships and chairs is faculty recognition. The other really important aspect of a faculty chair is that the money that the chair generates is available to faculty members to advance their instructional programs, to develop new research ideas, to fund students’ work and generally to make innovative advances in their own portfolios of scholarly work.
Q: Why do donors make gifts to create and endow professorships and chairs?
The reasons for giving are varied, but the common denominator is that people care about the world around them. One reason is that the donors understand the great strategic importance of such gifts to the University. But another important reason is that donors care about advancing the field in which they’re making the gift. The donor might be a corporation or company that knows the world is changing rapidly, and nearby they need the most talented professors, researchers and students available to them. Individuals may have more personal reasons. It may be, for example, that a parent had Alzheimer’s and the donor wishes to make the world a better place for people who are suffering from that disease. They may want to make a gift to advance research in that field, to educate and train more students who can help solve the mysteries that Alzheimer’s or another medical condition creates.
Q: How many more endowed chairs do you think UT Dallas needs?
The very best universities in America often endow a third of their faculty positions. So as UT Dallas continues to grow and change, our need for endowed faculty professorships and chairs will continue to grow. Ultimately, our goal is to have something on the order of one-third of our faculty holding endowed professorship and chairs. Why? It’s our goal to be among the very best universities in our nation and our world, and that means we have to have the best talent. Endowed faculty professorships and chairs make it possible to recruit and retain that talent.