Faculty Chairs & Professorships

Rewarding Excellence

OSU must do all in its power to attract and keep the best teachers and researchers, who are in demand not only by other colleges and universities, but also by government, industry, and the nonprofit world. Many could easily choose careers in higher paying professions— or at universities that offer more generous salaries and benefits than OSU. Our salaries are well below the national average, placing us among the least competitive institutions when it comes to faculty compensation.

Building Careers

Endowed chairs and professorships are critically important to creating an environment where top-echelon faculty members want to build careers. Each position brings with it a perpetual source of funding that a faculty member can use for activities related to teaching and research. These positions have an amazing ripple effect, creating a more dynamic learning environment and building the kinds of signature programs that attract top students and faculty. They also are powerful incentives for rising faculty stars. OSU has a comparatively small number of endowed positions, so each new position has that much more power to energize an entire department or college.

Private support is essential to create new endowed positions across the University, as well as to expand funding for existing chairs and professorships. The Campaign for OSU will play a key role in strengthening faculty members' ability to shape the lives of students, support the state's economy with new products and innovations, and bring research findings to bear on the world's most pressing problems.

Existing endowed faculty positions

If you are interested in establishing a chair or professorship, please contact: Shawn Scoville, Senior Vice President for Development, 541-737-9312

Dawn Wright, Professor of Geosciences, specializes in using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to map the ocean floor. Her work has critical implications for marine conservation, fisheries management, tsunami modeling, port navigation, wave energy generation, coastal erosion, and a range of other areas.

SELECTED GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

(minimum endowed gift levels)

Deanship or Institute Directorship

$5 million endowment

Chair

$2 million endowment

Coach

$2 million endowment

University Professorship

$1 million endowment

Professorship

$500,000 endowment or $25,000 annually for a minimum of three years

Faculty Scholar

$250,000 endowment or $12,500 annually for a minimum of three years