The McNeese Foundation provides endowed professorships according to University, McNeese Foundation, and Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR) guidelines. Endowments for professorships consist of private donations matched with state funds awarded by the BOR. Endowed professorships are available to eligible faculty on a competitive basis provided funding is available and approved by the McNeese Foundation. Endowed professorships may be designated for a specific purpose, college, department, or discipline in accordance with the objectives of the donation as well as BOR and McNeese Foundation criteria.
Use of endowed professorship funds support the McNeese State University mission by: 1) enhancing teaching and applied research activity, 2) supporting undergraduate research opportunities, and 3) sustaining the quality of academic programs through faculty and program development.
Full-time McNeese faculty members, including those with administrative roles, may apply for professorships designated for their respective disciplines, departments, or colleges. First-time, full-time faculty are eligible to apply; continuing full-time faculty must be in good standing and must have achieved satisfactory ratings in all areas of the previous annual performance review.
After the McNeese Foundation approves the status of endowed professorship funding, the provost and vice president for academic affairs informs college deans to begin the selection process. The dean may appoint a committee comprised of faculty or appropriate personnel to receive proposals and make recommendations for recipients. In cases where endowed professorships have specific designations, the dean or provost and vice president for academic affairs may appoint the endowed professor to support the objectives of the endowment and the University mission. The provost and vice president for academic affairs, with approval of the executive director of the McNeese Foundation, may designate professorships for specific initiatives provided the donor’s objectives are met.
Note: Chairpersons for endowed professorship committees should not hold meetings which conflict with Faculty Senate meetings (the first Wednesday of the month from 3:10-5:00 p.m.). In addition, prior to holding committee meetings to select recipients, endowed professorship committee chairs should document the process for selecting recipients and provide the documentation to the dean for review.
To apply for an endowed professorship, a proposal describing the applicant’s planned activities must be submitted to the committee or dean by the designated date announced each year. The proposal must have a title and include goals and objectives that support the University mission and are appropriate for the department in which the professor resides (e.g., grant funding, publications, applied research, undergraduate research, teaching, industrial ties, and other academic and/or economic development activities).
A college may elect to award an endowed professorship to a recipient for one to three years; however, multi-year awarding of professorships remains contingent on available funds for each year of the award. In cases of multi-year awarding, annual proposals and reports are required for each year.
Each committee receives and reviews proposals and makes recommendations to the dean. The dean ensures faculty criteria are met and forwards final recommendations to the provost and vice president for academic affairs for appointment. The provost and vice president for academic affairs makes the appointment for specifically designated professorships.
If the selection committees determine that there are no qualified applicants, the dean and provost and vice president for academic affairs may appoint an eligible faculty member to fulfill the objectives of the endowment.
Recipients may reapply for professorships when funding is available, provided all reporting requirements are met, the proposal objectives for previous awards are met, and the faculty member remains in good standing.
Endowed professorship funds may be used by faculty to 1) enhance teaching and applied research activity, 2) support undergraduate research opportunities, or 3) enhance the quality of academic programs and faculty development. Endowed professorship funds may not be designated for the general discretionary use of departments, colleges, or the campus.
The following occurs for the implementation of the award:
The amount of funding per endowed professorship is determined each year by the McNeese Foundation Board of Directors according to investment performance and other fiscal factors.
The University reserves the right to terminate the award if 1) the recipient’s actions are not appropriate as a representative of the University; 2) the recipient fails to fulfill the obligations of the professorship or fails to fulfill obligations in a timely manner; 3) the recipient suffers an incapacitating illness extending beyond one year; or 4) the recipient does not continue as a full-time faculty member at McNeese. The dean of the appropriate college will report cases involving possible termination of awards to the provost and vice president for academic affairs. Any vacancy created by an award termination will remain until the following year, and any unused money will be allocated for faculty development supporting the objectives of the endowment.
This policy is distributed via the University Policies webpage.