PROPOSED REVISION TO: REG/POL ##: REG05.20.17 – Professorship of Distinction
Rationale: Specifying that these Professorships are generally for tenured/tenure track faculty, and reorganizing the section on grandfathered professorships.
Consultation Process:
05/05/2016 Provost authorizes transmittal of PRR for review
__5/11/2016__General Counsel preliminary review
_5/25/2016_ Faculty Senate review, if applicable
_6/2/2016_Deans’ Council review, if applicable
6/2/2016General Counsel final review, if changes have been made
7/12/2016EOM, or official with delegated authority to review PRR
8/8/2016University Council Notification
Policies, Regulations and Rules / Authority
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Title
Professorships of Distinction
Classification
REG05.20.17
PRR Subject
Employment - EPA
Contact Info
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (919-513-7741)
History: First Issued: November 14, 1986. Last Revised: September 16, 2013.May 6June 2, 2016
Related Policies:
UNC Policy 600.2.3 - Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund
Additional References:
N.C.G.S. §116-41.17
Professorships of Distinction: Recognizing Excellence, Building Excellence
List of Currently Active Professors of Distinction
Department Rules for Named Professors and Named Term Professors
Giving and Naming Opportunities
Example Memo from Dean to Provost requesting approval of review committee
Example for Memo from Dean to Provost recommending appointment
SOP-Use of Professor of Distinction Title with Emeritus or Emerita Status
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This regulation defines the types of professorships of distinction with their associated titles and establishes uniform criteria and procedures for awarding these professorships. Faculty holding professorships of distinction prior to May 17, 2011 may continue to hold the specific professorship bestowed or may elect to change their professorships as set forth herein. This regulation does not apply to the Alumni Distinguished Graduate and Undergraduate Professor Awards.
2. TYPES OF PROFESSORSHIPS OF DISTINCTION
2.1 Named Distinguished Faculty Chair
2.1.1 Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities. May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.
2.1.2 The title will be [Named] Distinguished Chair.
2.2 Named Distinguished Professor and Named Distinguished University Professor
2.2.1 Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities. May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.
2.2.2 Named Distinguished Professorships may be held by the recipient a tenured full Professor as long as the recipient remains a full time faculty member or for a limited period as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Professorship or when it is vacated. Colleges may stipulate at the time of award that a review of the position will be conducted on a specific frequency (no more frequently than every five years). The title will be “[Name] Distinguished Professor”.
2.2.3 If the recipient also meets the criteria for Distinguished University Professor this may be added. The title will be “[Name] Distinguished University Professor”.
2.3 Named Distinguished Scholar
2.3.1 Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities. May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.
2.3.2 Named Distinguished Scholars may be held by an tenured or tenure track Associate Professor for a period as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Scholar or when it is vacated.
2.4 Named Distinguished Fellow
2.4.1 Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities. May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.
2.4.2 Named Distinguished Fellows may be held by a tenure-track n an Assistant Professor for a period as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Fellow or when it is vacated.
2.5 Named Professorships Grandfathered as of May 17, 2011
2.5.1 As of September 30, 2010 the value of the endowment of the professorships listed in section 8 was below Advancement’s minimum for a Named professorship. Thus, as of May 17, 2011 they are grandfathered as Named Professorships. Incumbents of these professorships as of May 17, 2011 will retain their existing title, but when these are vacated they are no longer eligible to have the addition of ‘Distinguished’ or ‘Distinguished University’ to the title.
2.6. Named Term Professorships
2.6.1 Privately funded professorships at the Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor rank that are established by agreement between a donor and the University or an affiliated university foundation. These are funded at the minimum level prescribed by the NC State Advancement on an annual basis for a time limited period and criteria are specified by the donor.
2.7 Distinguished Professor (unfunded, not named)
2.7.1 Recognition which has no specific funds associated with or supporting the honor that are bestowed on candidates meeting the intellectual criteria set forth in Section 3.
2.7.2 The total number of Distinguished Professors appointed on or after March 1, 2005 is capped for each college at 4% of the total number of tenured/tenure-track faculty, all fractions rounded up to next whole number, on the official fall semester census date. Exceptions to the cap may be approved by the Chancellor.
2.8 Distinguished University Professor (unfunded, not named)
2.8.1 Recognition which has no specific funds associated with or supporting the honor that are bestowed on candidates meeting the intellectual criteria set forth in Section 3.
2.8.2 The total number of Distinguished University Professors appointed on or after March 1, 2005 is capped for each college at 2% of the total number of tenured/tenure-track faculty, all fractions rounded up to next whole number, or two, whichever is greater, on the official fall semester census date. Exceptions to the cap may be approved by the Chancellor.
3. CRITERIA
3.1 Named Distinguished Faculty Chair, Named Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Professor
3.1.1 The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenured faculty member or potential tenured faculty member who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for full professor and be considered one of the best scholars in the discipline. Named Distinguished Faculty Chairs and Distinguished Professors will be known and respected nationally and internationally by scholars in their field.
3.1.2 In the case of Named Distinguished Faculty Chairs and Named Distinguished Professorships the candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.
3.2 Named Distinguished University Professor and Distinguished University Professor
3.2.1 The candidate will have attained all the criteria for a Distinguished Professor and, in addition, have improved the quality of NC State and served its mission through service and involvement in the campus community.
3.3 Named Distinguished Scholar
3.3.1 The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenured associate professor who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for associate professor and be considered one of the top up and coming scholars in the discipline. Named Distinguished Scholars will be known and respected nationally and potentially internationally by scholars in their field. The candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.
3.4 Named Distinguished Fellow
3.4.1 The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenure-track assistant professor who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for assistant professor and be considered to possess a strong potential to become one of the best in the discipline. The candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.
3.5 Named Term Professorships and Named Professorships
3.5.1 The candidate must be an outstanding tenured faculty member orcurrent or potential tenured faculty member who meets the criteria of the privately funded professorship.
4. SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR NAMED DISTINGUISHED FACULTY CHAIR, NAMED AND UNNAMED DISTINGUISHED AND DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AND NAMED DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS AND FELLOWS
4.1 Named Distinguished Faculty Chairs, Named Distinguished Professors and Named Distinguished University Professors shall be appointed at the rank of tenured Professor.
4.2 Named Distinguished Scholars shall be appointed at the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.
4.3 Named Distinguished Fellows shall be appointed at the rank of Assistant Professor.
4.4 The donor agreement for professorships funded 100% by the donor or the plan required from the Chancellor for the establishment of a professorship with partial funding from the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund will describe the academic department or other unit to which the professorship will be assigned, whether it will be filled by an external or internal appointment or by either, and whether the appointment will be time limited.
4.5 The Dean shall recommend a number of faculty members sufficient to allow the Provost to select a committee, including a chair, which shall be comprised of no fewer than five persons with a majority being professors of distinction whenever possible, and with representation of the nominee's discipline, as appropriate. For a Distinguished University Professorship, at least one member of the committee must be a full time Distinguished University Professor.
4.6 The committee shall obtain and review information on the qualifications of the nominee and make a recommendation to the Dean. The Dean makes a recommendation to the Provost who then makes a recommendation to the Chancellor.
4.7 The Chancellor’s decision is final.
4.8 For professorships in this category that have a set term and allow an incumbent to be reappointed, the Dean may appoint a committee to review and recommend whether or not to reappoint. The Dean’s decision is final and shall be communicated to the Provost.
4.9 For professorships in this category that are to rotate across colleges, the Dean of the college in which the professorship has become vacant shall inform the Provost of the vacancy. The Provost shall determine which college may next fill the professorship, including reassigning to the current holder. As of November 1, 2012 there are two of these professorships: William C. Friday Distinguished Professor and Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor.
5. SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR NAMED TERM PROFESSORSHIPS AND GRANDFATHERED NAMED PROFESSORSHIPS
5.1 This section pertains to Named Term Professorships created after May 17, 2011 and the grandfathered Named Professorships designated in Section 2.5.
5.2 The Dean of the College in which the professorship resides will by Rule determine the procedures to be followed for selection. Such procedures shall be consistent with the criteria and procedures, if any, specified by the donor and agreed to in writing by the university.
5.3 Dean informs the Provost and Chancellor of awards.
6. PROCEDURE TO REQUEST TO CHANGE TITLE OF PROFESSORSHIPS OF DISTINCTION AWARDED PRIOR TO MAY 17, 2011
6.1 Faculty member submits request for change in writing through their Department Head to their Dean.
6.2 Dean forwards approved requests to the Provost. Requests denied by the Dean are final.
6.3 Provost approves or disapproves and informs Dean.
7 6. DONOR SUPPORT AT LEVEL BELOW ADVANCEMENT MINIMUM FOR NAMED PROFESSORSHIP
76.1 As stated in NC State Advancement’s Giving and Naming Opportunities document, gift minimums exist for alternative faculty support that are not named professorships.
8 7. GRANDFATHERED NAMED PROFESSORSHIPS
8 7.1 The following professorships are grandfathered as Named Professorships effective May 17, 2011. If awarded after May 17, 2011 no additional modifiers may be added to the title.
7.2 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
7.2.1 Philip Morris
7.3 College of Education
7.3.1 William Dallas Herring
7.4 College of Engineering
7.4.1 Alcoa
7.4.2 Alton & Mildred Lancaster
7.4.3 Camille & Henry Dreyfus
7.4.4 Celanese Acetate
7.4.5 INVISTA
7.4.6 James T. Ryan
7.4.7 R. J. Reynolds
7.4.8 Walter Clark
7.5 College of Natural Resources
7.5.1 Alwin Schenck
7.5.2 Edwin F. Conger
7.5.3 Elis & Signe Olsson
7.5.4 Reuben B. Robertson
7.6 College of Sciences
7.6.1 Drexel
7.7 College of Textiles
7.7.1 Charles A. Cannon
7.7.2 Ciba-Geigy
7.8 College of Veterinary Medicine
7.8.1 Burroughs Wellcome Fund
8.1.1 Alcoa
8.1.2 Burroughs Wellcome Fund
8.1.3 Charles A. Cannon
8.1.4 Celanese Acetate
8.1.5 Ciba-Geigy
8.1.6 Walter Clark
8.1.7 Edwin F. Conger
8.1.8 Drexel
8.1.9 Camille & Henry Dreyfus
8.1.10 William Dallas Herring
8.1.11 INVISTA (Engineering)
8.1.12 Alton & Mildred Lancaster
8.1.13 Philip Morris
8.1.14 Elis & Signe Olsson
8.1.15 R. J. Reynolds
8.1.16 Reuben B. Robertson
8.1.17 James T. Ryan
8.1.18 Alwin Schenck