Overview
Professorships and chairs (hereafter referred to as “professorships”) are awarded to faculty who excel in scholarly activity demonstrated by a record of outstanding research, instruction, and/or outreach, with the promise of continuing productivity and excellent campus citizenship. These awards, with accompanying funding, are a way to acknowledge and reward faculty members for their outstanding work and integrity while encouraging and inspiring excellence across the college.
The following guidelines apply to professorships within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), at the department or college levels.
Professorship Memorandum of Agreement
For endowed professorships, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) shall be established between the donor and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) with acknowledgment by the college. The MOA establishes the name of the professorship and the guidelines that describe the nature of the professorship, including any details on the use of funds or qualifications of future appointees. Signed MOAs are provided to the donor and kept on file with the WFAA and the CALS Dean’s Office. Award managers are responsible for ensuring the terms of the MOA, as agreed to by the donor/WFAA/UW, are followed.
For UW Trust-funded professorships, any written agreements made on funding or qualifications shall be followed.
First-Time Awards
When a professorship is established, the department or college, as appropriate, shall generate an appointment process consistent with the MOA, including, but not limited to, eligibility of candidates, selection criteria, and selection processes. The first professorship appointment can be awarded when 100% of the funds have been received and one year of annual income is available. While the appointment and funding will not be effective until the first date of the fiscal year in which the funding requirements are met, first-time recipients can be selected prior to this date if desired.
Appointment Process
Appointments of faculty members to a professorship are generated by either the dean (for awards through the college or its departments) or provost (for awards through the university). MOAs outline the unit responsible for nominating a candidate. Management expectations are discussed in the relevant sections below. A department unable to meet the management expectations for two appointment cycles may result in the college assuming management of that professorship.
All appointees must be current with required trainings, be in good standing, and not have had any “not meeting expectation” reviews or letters of expectations in the past two years.
Department-Level Professorships
Each spring, the Dean’s Office shall notify department chairs and administrators of professorship appointments expiring on June 30 of that year. This notification shall include information needed for a nomination and a due date, if necessary.
Departments will be asked to refer to the MOA and select the person they want to nominate for the dean’s consideration by May 1 of that year. The nomination should include:
- CV, biosketch, or the past five years of Faculty Activity Reports
- One-page nomination recommendation that includes the quality and programmatic value of the nominee’s teaching, research, outreach, and service as relevant to the award
- Brief (1 to 2 paragraph) biography
CALS HR will confirm the nominee’s eligibility.
If approved by the dean, CALS will send an appointment letter to the recipient and home department.
College-Level Professorships
Each spring, the Dean’s Office shall determine which awards are ready for new appointments and establish the selection process in accordance with the MOA.
Timing
Professorships shall be granted for a five-year period with a July 1 first start date unless the MOA indicates the appointment should be for a different length of time (departments should refer to the MOA when selecting a recipient to recommend). All professorships will operate on the fiscal year, from July 1 to June 30. If a department fails to name a recipient in time for the upcoming cycle, they will have to wait until the next year for the professorship to start.
Professorship appointments cannot be announced by departments without college approval and collaboration with college communication efforts. Professorship titles cannot be used by the appointee until the start date. In the case of Bascom professorships, provost approval must also occur.
Funding
Compensation support
Any endowed professorships established after October 31, 2012 shall follow the campus chairs and professorship funding guidelines. This includes the college expectation that a minimum of 50% of the expected annual income generated by the professorship fund will provide compensation support, and 50 to 66.7% may be considered within the normal expected range for compensation support. Gift funding for faculty salaries allows the college to support faculty positions in times when state-support is reduced and is a reason many donors choose to create named professorships and chairs. Only UW-Madison funded faculty are eligible to receive these awards.
Professorships will follow the college’s other salary savings policies.
Summer salary for the professorship holder is an allowable expense for the discretionary portion of the professorship funds unless otherwise indicated in the MOA and the appointment letter from the Dean’s Office.
Annual allocation
The annual allocation of flexible funds for the professorship is generally equivalent to the estimated annual income of the account, minus the amount used for compensation support. The use of the funds shall be guided by the MOA. Award letters will inform holders of their annual allocation at the time of their selection.
Temporary base adjustments
Temporary base adjustments (TBAs) are only allowed if the award adds significant additional responsibilities to the appointee. Because of this, TBAs are not generally granted with professorships and are discouraged, as the recipient benefits from flexible funds provided through the annual allocation process.
Stewardship
Donors shall be notified of all professorship appointments. For department-managed professorships, this is the responsibility of the department chair (or designee) and for collegemanaged professorships, this is the responsibility of the dean (or designee). The WFAA shall facilitate this and provide the necessary resources and information.
Professorship holders will be expected to provide stewardship for the donors including, but not limited to, communicating with donors about significant accomplishments and/or current activities, meeting with donors as needed, or providing a brief written summary to serve as an annual update. The WFAA shall help to facilitate this process through the department chair or Dean’s Office to the faculty member.
Communication
Department and college professorship appointments will be recognized at an annual CALS investiture ceremony and in eCALS.
End of appointment
Professorship holders shall be notified by the department (for department-managed professorships) or the college (for college-managed professorships) of the end of their professorship term. At the end of the professorship term, the professorship holder shall follow the guidelines for that professorship for continued use of the title, as not all professorships permit continued title use. Funds must be spent by the end of the professorship term, or at the time of separation in cases of retirement or resignation.