UC Santa Barbara
Endowed Chairs, Policy #1105
Issuing Unit: Academic Affairs
Revised June 16, 1998
Page 1 of 6
POLICY ON ENDOWED CHAIRS
I. REFERENCES:
A. University of California, Policy and Procedures Manual for Gifts and Endowments.
B. University of California Academic Personnel Manual.
C. Policy on Endowed Chairs, adopted by The Regents, effective July 1, 1996.
II. POLICY:
A. Background:
While General Fund appropriations remain the core support for the academic functions of the campus, the establishment of endowed chairs, fully funded through the support of private gifts, provides significant and singular benefit in the development of excellence at UCSB. These gifts permit enriched support for the teaching, research and service responsibilities of especially gifted faculty and provide a means of according such faculty public recognition of their distinguished status. They offer attractive incentives for recruitment and retention purposes. Endowed chairs, endowed professorships and all similar entities are governed by this policy.
B. Definition:
An endowed chair is a perquisite, supported by income from an endowed fund established by gifts.
C. Requirements for Establishing an Endowed Chair:
1. The President of the University of California retains authority for establishing and naming endowed chairs. No final commitment for establishing and naming a chair shall be made to a prospective donor prior to Presidential approval.
2. The corpus of a gift consisting of cash, its equivalent, or a legally binding pledge from a donor(s) of at least $350,000 is required to establish an endowed chair.
a. A pledge to establish an endowed chair shall be in such form as to constitute a legally binding commitment by the donor. Pledges to The UCSB Foundation shall be supported by a binding pledge from the latter to transfer the income to The Regents at the beginning of each fiscal year to fund the chair.
b. Whenever possible, a pledge to fund an endowed chair shall be accompanied by partial payment, preferably at least one-third of the total, and the instrument of gift shall include a proposed payment schedule which shall not exceed a date specified at the time of Presidential approval, except in cases where there is a binding commitment to complete the funding by bequest or similar deferred gift for which there can be no predetermined termination date.
c. If a chair is to be funded through a campaign, the recommendation for approval of the chair and the campaign shall be presented simultaneously. Approval of an endowed chair when a campaign is involved, will be contingent upon the receipt of a specified amount by the specified closing date of the campaign, with a provision for optional use of the funds raised should they fall short of the required minimum, or with a commitment from the Chancellor to make up any deficiency from unrestricted funds available to the campus.
3. The subject area of the endowed chair must be consistent with the mission of the University of California and the academic planning statement of the Santa Barbara campus. The designated field for the endowed chair is a matter of negotiation between the donor and the University. Income from the endowment will be dedicated to the academic discipline or area specified by the donor at the time of acceptance of the gift so long as that discipline or specialty remains a program within the academic plan of the campus.
4. The gift instrument shall normally permit appropriate alternative distribution of the income by the Chancellor if the subject area of the endowed chair ceases to be consistent with the University's mission or the academic planning statement of the campus. Such alternative distribution shall be as closely related to the donor's original intent as is feasible.
5. The gift instrument shall normally state that the Chancellor is given authority to add unexpended income to the original corpus.
6. Procedure for obtaining approval for the establishment of an Endowed Chair is as follows: Recommendations shall be reviewed by the appropriate Dean and/or Provost and forwarded to the Executive Vice Chancellor who will consult with the Academic Senate Committee on Educational Policy and Academic Planning regarding the appropriateness of the proposed subject area. Based on the comments of the committee, the Executive Vice Chancellor will make a recommendation to the Chancellor as to the appropriateness of the Endowed Chair. Following Chancellor’s approval, the President will be requested to grant approval.
D. Appointments:
1. The term of appointment to an endowed chair will be for an initial period of five years, with subsequent terms of five years each as long as the chair holder is fulfilling the original mission and expectations of the appointment. Appointment may also be made to a series of individuals appointed successively for prescribed periods. All chair holders will be reviewed according to existing UC personnel policies.
2. Appointment of an individual to an Endowed Chair shall be made by the Chancellor, in accordance with the normal academic review procedure for an academic appointment, including consultation with the department, college, ad hoc committee, and Committee on Academic Personnel.
3. The level of appointment normally shall be equivalent to the top ranks of the professor series.
4. Chairs that remain vacant for a consecutive period of five years will be subject to review by the Chancellor.
E. Provisions:
1. Funds for the endowed chair provision, including the base salary and average support per FTE for the discipline, shall be provided from either campus General Funds or the Endowment income. Endowment income may be used to support salary, or a portion of the base salary. Income from the endowment may also be used for supplementary salary beyond the base salary, as determined by the fund administrator, consistent with the terms of the gift and campus procedures.
2. Endowment income made available to holders of endowed chairs shall be used to support teaching, research, and service activities of the chair holder, in accordance with the gift terms, University regulations and according to a budget recommended annually by the chair holder to the fund administrator. Consistent with the foregoing, and following consultation with the appropriate campus administrator, a chair holder may exercise the option of designating a portion of the endowment income from the chair for use towards the academic endeavors of the Department for a prescribed period, within proper legal constraints.
3. Endowment income for an administrative chair may be used to support the teaching, research, and service activities of the department, research unit, school , or college as determined appropriate by the holder of the chair in accordance with the gift terms as well as University and campus policies and procedures.
4. The department chairperson shall act as fund administrator unless this responsibility is designated, by the Chancellor, to another individual.
5. The occupant of the chair, as a member of the faculty, shall be entitled to the normal support funds and services available to other faculty members within the department. Such support shall not be charged against the endowed income of the chair.
6. The occupant of the chair shall be given adequate space for his/her teaching and research program, considering normal departmental and campus space allocations.
7. The holder of an appointment to an endowed chair will be expected to carry on an appropriate teaching responsibility, and normally shall teach both graduate and undergraduate courses. The appointee shall contribute to the scholarly activity of the department in which he/she resides and, through seminars and other intellectual contact with students, add to the enrichment of the academic life of the campus as a whole.
8. The Endowed Chair will be declared vacant at the time of retirement, termination, or death of the chairholder.
F. Disestablishment of Chair
1. The terms of the endowment shall be reviewed from time to time to ensure that chairs and professorships meet their intended purposes.
2. The President, subject to the donor's approval, and upon recommendation by the Chancellor and after consultation with General Counsel, is authorized to disestablish an endowed chair if
a. The subject area ceases to be consistent with the University's mission or campus academic planning statement.
b. the chair remains vacant for more than 5 years and the Chancellor determines there is no likelihood of filling the chair.
3. Upon disestablishment of an endowed chair the endowment income shall be redirected to the alternative purposes stated in the gift agreement or subsequent agreements between the donor and the Chancellor. If a donor is deceased and has not specified an alternative purpose, the campus shall request assistance of General Counsel in obtaining court approval for an alternative use of endowment income.
G. Reporting
1. The Chancellor shall provide the President annual reports on endowed chairs that have been unfilled in the previous year and those that have been disestablished. The reports should include the following:
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IAB, 6/25/98