Synopsis of Academic Personnel Manual Section 191
I. Overview of UCLA Endowed Chairs
Endowed Chairs are reserved for scholars and teachers at various stages in their careers who have demonstrated excellence in their field.
The holder of an Endowed Chair will be designated as the "[Name of Chair] Professor of [Department, Program, etc.].”
To allow flexibility to donors and to the University, the following categories of Endowed Chairs and Named Chairs are provided for:
- Permanent Endowed Chair
- Term Endowed Chair
- Endowed Chair Linked to a Deanship/Academic Administrative Position
- Endowed Chair for a Visitor
- Presidential Chair
- Professorial Name Chair (unfunded, without payout)
- Chancellor's Professor
An Endowed Chair may be designated by the donor to be used in one or more of the above categories, or, in the absence of such designation, may be assigned by the Chancellor for use from time to time in one or more of these categories.
During any period in which an Endowed Chair is not filled, the Chancellor may authorize the appropriate Dean, after consultation with the relevant department(s), to use the endowment’s income in support of research and teaching in the designated area of study. If a Chair is left unfilled for three years, the Dean must file a report with the Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel, at the end of the third year, and at the end of each subsequent year in which the Chair is unfilled, explaining why the Chair is unfilled and providing a plan for filling the Chair.
The President may approve exceptions to these policies.
Further information regarding each category is provided below:
A. Permanent Endowed Chair
A Permanent Endowed Chair may be used to honor scholars and teachers who have demonstrated excellence in their field at any career stage who are already at UCLA, or to attract such scholars and teachers to the UCLA faculty.
Appointment to a Permanent Endowed Chair is for the appointee’s term as an active member of the faculty, with the designation "Emeritus" added to the appointee’s title upon retirement from tenured status. The holder of an Endowed Chair will be designated as the "[Name of Chair] Professor of [Department, Program, etc.]." In exceptional cases, if allowed by the gift agreement for the Endowed Chair, a Pathways to Retirement agreement approved by the Vice Chancellor, Academic Personnel may include language allowing the Dean to leave a retired appointee's Endowed Chair unfilled for up to three years following retirement, and to provide an amount equal to some or all of the payout to the appointee emeritus for purposes of conducting research in accordance with the terms of the Endowed Chair.
B. Term Endowed Chair
Term Endowed Chairs are often designated for junior or early-career faculty. If the donor and departmental faculty agree, the term of such chairs may be shorter than five years. At the end of the appointment, the holder of the Endowed Chair will be designated as the “[Name of Chair] Professor of [Department, Center, etc.] (20xx-20xx)." Term Endowed Chair holders are not normally eligible for a second term.
C. Endowed Chair Linked to a Deanship/Academic Administrative Position
An Endowed Chair linked to an Academic Administrative Position is intended to enhance the attractiveness and academic prestige of an administrative position for an excellent scholar and teacher. Such an Endowed Chair is limited to a faculty member who is a Dean, Department Chair, Director of an Organized Research Unit, or holder of an equivalent administrative position.
Appointment to the Endowed Chair is for the period of the appointee’s tenure in the associated administrative position. After the end of the appointment to the academic administrative position, the holder of the Endowed Chair will be designated as the “[Name of Chair] Professor of [Department, Center, etc.] (20xx-20xx).”
D. Endowed Chair for a Visitor
An Endowed Chair for a Visitor is intended to bring an excellent scholar and teacher at any career stage to UCLA as a visitor, normally for a one year period.
Appointment policies and procedures applicable to Visiting appointments should be followed as set forth in the Visiting Professor Series of The UCLA CALL.
E. Presidential Chair
Presidential Chairs are supported by funds provided by the Office of the President. For specific information about the terms and conditions for the creation and employment of Presidential Chairs, contact the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office and see APM 265. Approval for the establishment of Presidential Chairs rests with the President. The establishment of Presidential Chairs should be directed to the goals of recruitment and retention of targeted scholars as well as encouragement of high quality new and/or interdisciplinary program development.
The advice of the Council on Academic Personnel (CAP) shall be sought regarding the decision to create a Presidential Chair for a particular faculty recruitment or retention target. No commitment relating to the creation or allocation of a Presidential Chair shall be made without the approval of the appropriate official in the Chancellor's Office. Initiation of the decision to use a Presidential Chair for a particular recruitment or retention target shall rest with the Dean, subject to the approval of the Chancellor’s Office. Final authority to approve holders of Presidential Chairs rests with the Chancellor.
F. Professorial Name Chair
The Regents have authorized a category of Chairs called “Professorial Name Chairs,” honoring the memory of the University’s most highly distinguished deceased faculty members. Occupants of these chairs shall be only the most outstanding of the present members of the University faculty. The occupant of the Chair carries the honorary professorial title associated with the Chair, but there is no monetary fund associated with such Chairs nor any other perquisites. See Regents Policy 2303.
For policies and procedures regarding the establishment and disestablishment of a Professorial Name Chair, please contact the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office.
G. Chancellor's professor
The title "Chancellor's Professor" is intended for individuals who have earned the title of Professor and who have demonstrated exceptional academic merit and whose continued promise for scholarly achievement is unusually high. Chancellor's Professors are faculty members who have achieved acclaim for their accomplishments and who are likely to continue producing notable achievements in scholarship.
Appointments to the title Chancellor's Professor must follow the established procedures for faculty appointments which include review by CAP and require approval by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel. Chancellor's Professor appointments are to be made for five-year renewable terms, subject to review and recommendation of the Dean to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel.
II. Procedure
A. Search Procedures
- A search shall be conducted in accordance with procedures set forth in Appendix 23 of The UCLA CALL and the Faculty Search Process Policy Memorandum issued by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
- A search committee shall be appointed by the appropriate Dean(s) after consultation with the relevant Department Chair(s). Inclusion of one or more committee members from outside the department is preferred. The Dean(s)’ authority to appoint the search committee may be delegated to the Department Chair(s).
- Where appropriate, the Chancellor, upon recommendation of the Dean(s), may limit the search pool to individuals who are already members of the UCLA faculty.
- The search committee shall file a report to the appointing officer describing the procedures followed and including its short list of candidates and a justification for the recommended candidate or candidates.
B. Appointment Procedures
Appointments to a Permanent Endowed Chair, Term Endowed Chair, Presidential Chair, Professorial Name Chair, and Chancellor’s Professor require the submission of a dossier and review by CAP (see checklist for the minimum appointment dossier content). A candidate may be proposed for a professorial appointment and an Endowed Chair simultaneously. The dossier shall reference both proposed appointments. Standard campus protocols and departmental bylaws shall be followed for assembling the dossier and processing the case in Opus/Interfolio.
Appointments of internal UCLA faculty to Endowed Chairs housed in institutional units where the chair holder does not hold a formal appointment (i.e., International Institute, Institute of American Cultures, Undergraduate Education, interdisciplinary centers, etc.) shall follow the process outlined here.
Effective July 1, 2019, appointments to an Administrative Endowed Chair will no longer require the submission of a full dossier nor a review by CAP. The Dean’s Office shall complete the Appointment Form for an Administrative Endowed Chair and process the action through Opus/Interfolio.
The Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel, upon recommendation of CAP, is the final approval authority for appointment.
C. Compensation
Fund payout made available to holders of Endowed Chairs shall be used to support teaching, research, and service activities. The Chair holder shall report all expenditures from the Chair allocations annually, in accordance with campus procedures and guidelines.
Fund payout for an administrative chair shall provide support for the teaching, research, and service activities of the department, research unit, school or college.
Unless expressly prohibited by the gift instrument, endowment payout may be used to support the base salary, or a portion of the base salary of a Chair holder. Payout from a Chair endowment may also be used to support additional compensation under an approved compensation plan, the Off-Scale component of salary, sabbatical supplement or summer salary of the Chair holder in accordance with applicable policies.
III. Establishment and Disestablishment of Endowed Chairs
For policies and procedures regarding the establishment and disestablishment of an Endowed Chair, please contact the Academic Affairs and Personnel Office and see APM 191-B and 191-E.
Revised 8/9/19
