|
|
|
IX-6.00(A) UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND POLICY ON ENDOWED FACULTY CHAIRS AND PROFESSORSHIPS
(Approved by the President on June 15, 1999)
The University encourages the establishment of faculty chairs
and professorships through endowments created by private gifts
as a way to supplement departmental support for outstanding
University faculty. This policy sets forth the principles and
procedures that shall guide the establishment and activation of
such faculty endowments. Responsibility for authorizing and
administering endowed chairs and professorships lie s with the
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost (the
"Senior Vice President").
I. Purpose of the Faculty Endowment
Traditionally, faculty chairs and professorships are established
as a means to honor and support the work of faculty pursuing
scholarly activity in a particular field. An endowment also may
be established to offer the administrative head of a component
of the University an additional source of funds to support the
activities of that unit (an "administrative" chair or
professorship).
A. An endowed chair or professorship is generally
intended to provide special recognition to the faculty
member to whom the title is awarded. It is held for a
specific term, and during that time, interest revenue
("payout funds") from the endowment is used by the
University to supplement departmental support of the
faculty member's teaching, research, and public
service activities. These payout funds may be used for
part of the base salary, or for a salary supplement,
subject to approval by the Senior Vice President. In
addition, they may be used for graduate assistant
stipends, secretarial assistance, travel expenses,
research support, and for such other purposes as may
be reasonably related to the purpose of the endowment.
Following consultation with the appropriate campus
administrator or council and consistent with the gift
terms, the President may approve a proposal from the
current holder of a chair or professorship to allocate
a portion of the payout funds for support of the
academic endeavors of the department or campus for a
specified period.
B. An endowed administrative chair or professorship is
held ex officio by a University administrator, e.g., a
Department Chair, the Director of an academic program
or an organized research unit, a Dean, the Senior Vice
President, or the President. Payout funds shall be
used to support the teaching, research, and service
activities of the department, research unit, school,
college, or the University generally.
II. Designated Titles
It is the prerogative of the University to designate the title
of a chair or professorship, which will generally use the
following format:
(Name selected in consultation with benefactor) Chair in
(field)
(Name selected in consultation with benefactor)
Professorship in (field)
An alternative title may be established by the University
following consultation with the benefactor and the Senior Vice
President:
III. Qualifications, Term of Title, and Selection Procedures
A. The holder of a professorship or chair must normally
be a tenured, full-time member of the University
faculty at the rank of Professor but may also be held
by a non-tenured Professor of the Practice, a
distinguished visiting faculty member, or an
especially promising junior faculty member, if
stipulated by the endowment agreement. Administrative
chairs and professorships are normally held by
University faculty holding tenured or tenure-track
appointments.
B. The award of a chair or professorship should normally
be for a fixed term, generally five years, rather than
an indefinite length, and the term may be renewed.
The chair or professorship can be renewed for
successive five-year terms as long as the holder of
the chair or professorship continues to fulfill the
high expectations for the chair or professorship. A
chair or professorship held by a junior faculty member
or by visiting faculty should normally not exceed five
years total. Administrative chairs and professorships
are held ex officio and are normally held by
tenured/tenure-track faculty.
C. The award of a chair or professorship shall be made by
the President upon recommendation of the Senior Vice
President and the Dean of the appropriate school or
college. The recommendation shall include a statement
of the qualifications of the candidate and a proposed
term. In all regards, the recommendation shall be
consistent with the conditions and purposes of the
endowment agreement. In the event the award of a
chair or professorship is to coincide with an offer of
appointment to the Faculty, the appointment shall have
followed University search procedures.
IV. Minimum Funding Levels and Source of Funds
A. Funds to establish a chair or professorship are to be
provided by gift of an endowment specific to the
proposal, or from an identified University endowment
fund appropriate for this purpose. The following
minimum endowments are required:
Chair: $1,500,000 Professorship: $500,000
The President shall review the policy every five years
to ensure that the minimum endowment required for
newly established chairs and professorships is
appropriate.
B. A "term" chair or "term" professorship is one
established for a limited duration only. It shall be
supported by an expendable grant of not less than five
percent (5%) of the above minimum required endowment
per year for a minimum term of five years.
C. If a chair or professorship is to be funded from
undesignated endowment funds, the full amount of the
required endowment must be separated from the
undesignated funds and moved to a separate account
specifically designated for the proposed chair or
professorship and maintained there for the duration of
its existence.
V. Activation and Funding Commitments
Before a faculty member may be appointed to a chair or
professorship, there must exist a legally irrevocable commitment
(e.g., a charitable remainder trust, a charitable gift annuity,
an estate note) from a donor to provide the full minimum amount
of the funds set forth above to establish the endowment. An
appointment may be made to the chair or professorship when:
A. The donor has agreed to provide the full amount of the
endowment within a five-year period and the
administrative unit in which the chair or
professorship is located and/or another source has
agreed to provide funds to the holder of the chair or
professorship equivalent to the endowment payout until
such time that the endowment level is sufficient to
provide those funds; or
B. The donor has provided at least one half of the
required endowment funding with a written irrevocable
commitment to provide the remaining funding according
to a specific and accepted timetable.
A faculty member may be appointed to a "term" chair or a "term"
professorship when the donor has made an irrevocable commitment
to provide not less than five percent (5%) of the minimum
required endowment for a chair or professorship per year for a
minimum term of at least five years.
VI. Changed Conditions and Alternate Use of Endowment
Evolution in the academic objectives and organization and in the
research, teaching, and service emphases are part of the normal
life of a university. The scope of permissible activity under
Regents' policy and applicable law is also characterized by
occasional change. For this reason, it may rarely occur that
the payout funds of an endowment should best be used to support
a different area of research, teaching, or service than
originally intended or that administrative restrictions
contained in a gift instrument reasonably need to be amended.
The Senior Vice President should therefore ensure that absent
unusual circumstances, the gift instrument contains the donor's
recognition and permission for alternate use of the endowment
and payout funds. The Office of Legal Affairs will develop
appropriate language to accomplish this purpose.
VII. Unawarded Chairs and Professorships
The President (or designee) shall review endowed chairs or
professorships that remain vacant for a period of three
consecutive years to ensure that the University is meeting its
obligation to fulfill the terms of the gift, including the
expenditure of endowment revenues in support of the donor's
intent. The following guidelines shall be observed:
A. Normally, endowment income shall not be permitted to
accumulate to more than five years of payout.
B. In the event an established, fully-funded chair or
professorship has remained vacant for three years or
more, or should the accumulated income from the chair
exceed five years of payout, the Senior Vice President
shall ascertain the reason and take appropriate
corrective action consistent with the terms of the
gift instrument or the administrative allocation.
Such action may include:
1. Implementing a new expenditure plan designed to
fill the chair or professorship or to utilize the
payout funds fully.
2. Seeking authorization of the President to
reallocate the endowment's payout funds to an
alternative purpose consistent with the existing
terms of the gift.
3. Seeking authorization of the President and
concurrence of the donor to redesignate the
purpose of the chair or professorship.
4. Seeking authorization from the President, with
the concurrence of the donor if available, to add
the accumulated unspent payout funds to the fund
principal in conjunction with a new expenditure
plan.
5. Redesignating the purpose of the chair or
endowment in a manner authorized by the President
and prescribed by law.
VIII. Retirement of an Endowed Chair or Professorship
The activation and continuation of an endowed chair or
professorship is contingent on completion of funding. When the
endowment has not reached full funding, either by the end of the
specified pledge period or at the maturity of a deferred gift or
bequest, it shall be reviewed by the President. The review will
include alternative uses for the payout established by the gift
or allocation instrument and discussions with the donor.
A. Subject to the donor's approval, the President may retire an
endowed chair or professorship when:
1. The subject area ceases to be consistent with the
University's mission and the academic plan of the campus
or any restrictions in the gift instrument may no
longer, in the University's opinion, be legally applied
by it.
2. It has remained vacant for a period of three years and
the President, after consultation with the respective
Department Chair and Dean and the Senior Vice President,
determines there is no reasonable - likelihood of making
the award.
B. When a chair or professorship endowed through a gift is
retired, the payout funds shall be reallocated to an
alternative purpose that may be stated in the gift
instrument or as may be subsequently specified by the donor
in consultation with the President. If the donor is
deceased and has not specified an alternative purpose, the
payout funds shall be reallocated to such purposes as may
be permitted by law. In such instance, attention shall be
given to using the payout funds in a manner most closely
approximating the donor's objectives.
|
