For an endowed professorship, a selected professor, like Kingsolver, is given a monetary supplement to his or her salary, and the money is sometimes used specifically for research.
Kingsolver said he was excited about the opportunity to combine undergraduate teaching with research. "That's very appealing to me because research is an important part of what I do, and undergraduate teaching is too," he said.
The money for an endowed professorship comes from a donor who gives a certain amount, which the University invests, said Speed Hallman, executive director of development communications. From the invested money, less than 5 percent of the interest is given to the professor, and the rest is returned to the fund.
With the recent announcement of 10 new endowed professorships from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, UNC officials are focusing on using these honors to retain and recognize professors.
These efforts are becoming increasingly important tasks because up to one-third of UNC's faculty is expected to retire in the next decade, said Richard Soloway, senior associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences and a holder of an endowed professorship.
University officials said the coming retirement increase is a nationwide trend that creates intense competition for new professors. "Without these endowed (professorships), we would not be nearly as competitive," Soloway said. "Endowed chairs are our ace in the hole."
The recent addition of new professorships is just part of the University's primary goal in the Carolina First Campaign to raise $1.5 billion. Associate Provost Bernadette Gray-Little said that while endowed professorships are used to retain and recruit professors, they are used more to recognize professors' outstanding accomplishments.
Soloway said within the University there are about 700 faculty, about 130 of whom have endowed professorships. He said professors are attracted to both the money and the honor of these professorships, which are all merit-based.
Provost Robert Shelton said endowed professorships are necessary to compete with the best universities. He said compared to other public universities, UNC is strong in endowed professorships.
