This week the University will recognize the accomplishments of 35 of its most esteemed faculty members who hold endowed chairs and professorships.
The University's Endowed Professorships and Chairs website includes articles about each of the scholars who hold endowed positions.
In ceremonies today and Tuesday, groups of faculty from the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the Naveen Jindal School of Management will be formally invested in their positions. The ceremonies will also include faculty from the Schools of Arts and Humanities, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
This week’s events close a series of celebrations throughout 2012 that began last spring when more than 50 professors from the School of Arts and Humanities, the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics were invested.
“The investiture ceremony is an excellent time to celebrate the achievements of our outstanding faculty,” said President David E. Daniel. “We are able to learn more about these professors’ important contributions to research and instruction, while anticipating their future accomplishments.”
Dr. Bruce Novak, dean of the school of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, was invested last spring as Distinguished Chair of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Investiture ceremonies are steeped in symbolism and tradition dating to the Middle Ages, when early European universities honored their scholars with elaborate rituals. A chair or professorship lasts as long as the University exists and is among its highest academic honors. The funding generated by the establishment of a chair or professorship plays a critical role in helping faculty members advance their instructional programs and develop new research ideas. The positions also serve as lasting tributes to the donors who establish them.
In recent years, dozens of endowments have been established at the University to support the work of prominent faculty members. The numbers of endowed chairs and professorships has doubled since 2009, to more than 100 positions.
“We are able to learn more about these professors’ important contributions to research and instruction, while anticipating their future accomplishments.”
Dr. David E. Daniel,
president of UT Dallas
Increasing the number of endowed positions represents a significant step toward achieving the goal of raising the University to the ranks of the country’s pre-eminent research institutions. Daniel said UT Dallas must continue to expand the number of such positions to compete for the most talented faculty.
“Endowed faculty professorships and chairs play an important role in our effort to recruit and retain top-quality faculty, a key to making us a great University,” he said. “We are a fast-growing institution, which means we are greatly expanding the size of our faculty annually. But we want to make certain that the new faculty members we recruit match the high standards of UT Dallas.”
The Investiture ceremonies will begin at 2:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in the Davidson Auditorium of the Jindal School.