A PDF version is available at this link.
Updated: December 2024

Purpose
The primary purposes of these funds are to recognize excellence, recruit and retain faculty members, and/or to supplement or fully fund a position that fulfills the mission of the School. Great institutions are home to the best minds, the most creative scholars and the most engaged teachers. One faculty member can inspire hundreds of people through the courses they teach, students they mentor, their scholarship endeavors and service through the Wisconsin idea. The named distinguished chair, chair, professorship, and faculty fellow appointments are made available by donors who wish to recognize such distinguished contributions of the faculty. It is also an opportunity to form an enduring bond with the donor who honors the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) with their gift.   

Fundamentals in Appointment Decision 
All named appointments must be aligned with the donor’s intent (either specifically targeted field or broadly defined at dean’s discretion as described in the MOA).  Funds for named faculty appointments may be used to support a new or existing position as directed by the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the donor and the UW Foundation and/or the Dean.  As per the MOA guidelines, Dean will have the authority to determine the term and renewal status of the SoHE named faculty appointments at his/her discretion.

Eligibility
SoHE named chairs and professorships: awarded to tenured associate and full professors, while distinguished professorships are awarded to full professors in general. As per the donor MOA guidelines, exceptions may be made to recognize advanced tenure-track (5^th or 6^th) with support from the oversight committee. 

Faculty fellowships: awarded to both tenure-track and tenured faculty members in order to support targeted initiatives.

Criteria

• Maintain a high level of scholarly productivity and national visibility within the designated discipline through continuing scholarly and/or creative activities. Seek external funding commensurate with the holding of a distinguished position within the discipline.
• Contribute to the teaching and/or outreach mission of the university, and in ways appropriate to the position and the discipline.
• Contribute to the service mission of the university, School and department, in ways appropriate to the position.
• Serve as a role model for others in department and School engagement, citizenship, and collegiality.
• Serve as a role model in leadership activities including the effective mentorship of pre-tenured faculty.
• Contribute to the advancement of the School of Human Ecology vision and strategic goals. 

Nomination and Appointment Process

• Dean will nominate candidates who meet the criteria described in the donor MOA for each named position.
• Nominated faculty will receive notification from the Dean’s office to accept (or decline) the nomination and submit their materials. 
•  Associate Dean and Dean will review the nominee’s materials and determine whether the materials meet the qualifications for approval or request revise/resubmit for further consideration. 
• Associate Dean and Dean may request for an in-person meeting and/or interview to review the donor’s MOA and expectations for the appointment.
• The candidate will be notified of Dean’s decision via a letter of appointment detailing the terms and conditions of the appointment.

Nominee’s Materials for Review

1. CV that clearly highlights activities most relevant to the application.
2. Nominee’s statement
3. • Endowed Professor/Chair/Distinguished Chair (2-3 pages):  Describe one’s accomplishments that align with the criteria of the named endowment and SoHE strategic goals, including evidence of positive role modeling and service citizenship in the department.   
   • Faculty Fellowship (1-2 pages):  Describe one’s proposal to meet the stated expectations of the fellowship.  The endorsement of the department chair is required.  This expectation can be met by an email to the Dean’s office or including the department chair’s signed approval at the bottom of the proposal.

3. Letters of support (endowed prof/chair/distinguished chair only):  
   • External letters - The nominee should ask two external reviewers to submit their letters of support directly to Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.  External letter writers should be distinguished scholars in the candidate’s field who can speak about the candidate’s credential in the field (Collaborators may be permitted, although non-collaborators are preferred).  Letter writers should be asked to address how the candidate’s scholarship aligns with the criteria of the named endowment and speak to the candidate’s position in the field. Should letters of support that were required for a typical faculty review (e.g., promotion, awards) be available within a year of this nomination, those letters may be substituted at the discretion of Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.   
   • Department Chair’s Letter – The Department Chair will be asked to provide a letter of support specifically with regards to the nominee’s leadership role modeling and service citizenship in the department.

Named Faculty Appointment Holder Expectations

Annual Stewardship for Donors
Stewardship is an important part of development. It conveys the importance of gifts and forms a connection between the donor and the School of Human Ecology via the named positions. It is an essential responsibility of the recipient of a SoHE named chair or professorship to provide ongoing and meaningful stewardship annually via the coordination by SoHE Advancement and Communications team.

Term Report
At the conclusion of the appointment, named faculty holders are required to submit a Term Report that summarizes the noted achievements in advancing the SoHE vision, the targeted areas of interest with respect to the named positions in particular, and demonstrated citizenship and stewardship during the tenure of the appointment.  The Dean’s office will notify the appointment holders in January prior to the end of the endowed faculty appointment to submit their Term Report.

Should the endowed appointment be eligible for renewal, a portfolio of faculty materials will be gathered by the Dean’s office to which the Term Report shall be added.  A “circle review” of the holder with respect to Citizenship, Engagement and Collegiality will be conducted by the Dean’s office. 

Circle Review of Citizenship, Engagement and Collegiality
In addition to scholarly and teaching accomplishments, holders of named faculty appointments are also expected to maintain their engagement and citizenship in the department and being role models for collegiality, contributing to the overall well-being of SoHE and its employees.  (See SoHE Leadership Expectations). This short Qualtrics survey will be administered to solicit information from SoHE stakeholders.  The holder will be asked to suggest 4 names of SoHE employees: 3 from within their own department and 1 from outside. The Dean’s office will add 4 additional names from the department and at the School level (faculty and staff).

Circle Review Instrument
For each of the citizenship and collegiality characteristics listed below, please indicate the extent to which the person you are reviewing displays these characteristics:

Response options:

• To very little extent
• To a little extent
• To some extent
• To a great extent
• To a very great extent
• Don’t Know/Not Applicable

 Positive Role Modeling, Engagement and Citizenship:

1. Does their fair share of work in committees or other group activities.
2. Attends and actively participates in departmental and School meetings.
3. Demonstrates positive role modeling through personal involvement, collaboration, inspiration, and energy.

 Collegiality and Well-Being of All:

4. Treats co-workers of all backgrounds and positions fairly, respectfully, and courteously.
5. Creates negative energy in the workplace (e.g., gossiping, bullying, complaining).
6. Works to foster harmony and well-being among fellow colleagues and staff.

 Personal and professional ethics and integrity:

7. Demonstrates high standards of personal and professional ethics and integrity.