Giving Priorities: Faculty

Fostering Faculty Excellence

The faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences forms the foundation for accomplishment in all of the School’s endeavors. These top scholars are experts and innovators in their fields. They are also devoted teachers dedicated to providing the best education to undergraduate and graduate students. A critical tool in the effort to recruit and retain such exceptional faculty is the establishment of endowed chairs.

Endowed professorships allow the School to attract and reward a succession of gifted scholars, providing intellectual leadership to students and other faculty for generations to come. A named appointment carries great prestige and provides a permanent source of research funding and salary support. Securing the resources needed to compete for the very best faculty is one of our top challenges. The following gift options will provide us with an edge in our efforts to recruit and retain these academic stars.

Giving opportunities in support of faculty excellence:

• A gift of $3 million would create a named professorship for a member of the School of Arts and Sciences senior faculty. A gift at this level provides a permanent source of research funding and salary support for a faculty member at the pinnacle of his or her career, and confers the highest form of recognition of professional achievement.
• A gift of $250,000 would establish a named term professorship. These professorships accomplish the same goal as an endowed professorship on a more temporary basis. Term funds provide support for one of the School’s preeminent scholars for a period of five years.
• A gift of $100,000 would establish a named faculty research fund, enhancing the School’s ability to recruit and retain faculty by providing a dedicated source of research support.

Read about the University’s PIK (Penn Integrates Knowledge) Professors, President Amy Gutmann’s initiative to recruit scholars whose research and teaching exemplify the integration of knowledge.