Named, Endowed Chairs and Professorships

Owner
Dean of the College; Associate Dean for the Natural, Mathematical, and Social Sciences; Associate Dean for the Arts and Humanities; Office of the Provost

Key Contacts 

If you have questions, please contact your Area Associate Deans or the Dean.

Applicability  

Tenured faculty at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor. 

Policy Purpose and Description  

Guidelines for Named Faculty Positions at The University of Iowa. 

Definitions  

Named Faculty Positions: include endowed deanships, chairs and professorships, as well as named professorships that are supported by temporary funds. 

Collegiate Fellows: when senior faculty members not already holding named appointments are honored for their records of sustained productivity and distinction. 

Procedure 

All appointments to endowed faculty positions, including named faculty fellowships, must be approved by the Dean, in consultation with the CLAS Committee on Named Professorships and Endowed Chairs, and then submitted for approval by the Provost.  Only one fellowship or named professorship may be held by any individual faculty member at one time. 

Criteria 

For endowed chairs or professorships, the University has established the following criteria: 

  • The faculty member must have stimulated or substantially altered their field through scholarly or artistic work. 

  • The faculty member must have achieved international recognition by peers in the field. 

  • The faculty member must have made exceptional teaching contributions. 

  • The faculty member must have attained the rank of full professor, except in extraordinary circumstances. 

For Collegiate Fellows, the College has established the following criteria: 

  • There must be unmistakable evidence since the candidate’s promotion to full professor of accomplished teaching and student mentorship, distinguished scholarly or creative work, and leadership in service. 

  • The faculty member must ordinarily have served five years at the rank of professor. 

For named faculty fellows, the department must have written criteria that have been approved by the College. 

Nomination Procedures 

For named chairs and professorships, departments may nominate members of their faculty for consideration or the College may initiate the nomination.  The nomination must include a letter to the Dean detailing the contributions that merit this honor, a copy of the current CV, and the names of six potential external evaluators who are nationally or internationally known in the discipline, with their qualifications and contact information (mailing address, email, and phone).   

For Collegiate Fellows, the nominations must include a statement about the significance of the nominee’s work, and a copy of the current CV. 

For named faculty fellows, departments must have written criteria that have been approved by the College.  The nomination submitted to the College must include at least those materials outlined above for Collegiate Fellowships. 

Approval Process 

On all nominations for named chairs and faculty fellowships, the Dean consults the College’s ad hoc Committee on Named Professorships and Endowed Chairs, composed of current holders of such appointments.  If advised by this committee to pursue the nomination, the Dean will contact at least three external evaluators.  The Dean may then forward a collegiate nomination to the Provost for approval. 

The Provost approves appointments of named chairs and professorships and Collegiate Fellows for five-year (renewable) terms.  Appointment as a named faculty fellow may be of shorter duration, as specified by the department’s written procedures.  For appointments that do not have a term, the Provost consults the University-wide Ad Hoc Committee on Named and Endowed Chairs. 

Forms  

Frequently Asked Questions  

N/A 

Related Information 

Revision History