Office of Development

Professorships

Nothing defines a university more clearly than the quality of its faculty, and no asset is more critical to its students. Private, supplementary support for faculty, especially in the form of endowments for chairs and professorships, is vital to the University. LSU’s existing chairs and professorships have proven to be highly valuable means of retaining some of the very best teachers and faculty leaders and for recruiting new talent to the campus.

STATE MATCHING INCENTIVE

A special state program offering matching funds for private gifts for faculty endowments support provides an excellent source of supplementary support for some of the best faculty. The Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund (BRSF), founded in 1986, is a trust fund for the creation of endowments for chairs and professorships. The program is administered by the Board of Regents for the benefit of all the colleges and universities in Louisiana.

Since the program was implemented, LSU has acquired $87 million in state matched chairs and professorships. These endowments are providing approximately $3.5 million in annual financial support to 364 selected LSU professors. New endowments are being established and more applications for the state match are being made each year. The program has proven to be highly successful in attracting private gifts and in rewarding and retaining some of the most outstanding teachers and faculty leaders. Few states in the nation have such an effective matching program for contributions to higher education. Explanations of how the BRSF program applies to endowed chairs and professorships follow.

An endowed chair is a titled faculty position funded by a minimum of $1 million. The honor and accompanying financial stipend reward a distinguished scholar and teacher who have become nationally recognized in an academic discipline. Under the BRSF guidelines, a new chair endowment requires that a national search be conducted for the best applicants.

To qualify for BRSF matching funds the private contributions must total at least $600,000, and the application for matching funds must be judged in competition with other applications in the given year. Winning proposals receive $400,000 in BRSF funds, thus creating a $1 million endowment. The net usable earnings from a $1 million endowment are currently approximately $40,000 annually.

“Double” chair endowments are also supported and encouraged. A double chair requires gifts of $1,200,000, which may qualify for matching funds of $800,000, thus creating an endowment of $2 million. The net useable earnings from a $2 million endowment are currently approximately $80,000 annually.

Donors may name the chair and may specify that the LSU administration is to select the academic discipline. Alternatively, the donor may select the discipline with the approval of the administration. Further details on the requirements, restrictions, and annual schedule for the BRSF application process are available.

Under the BRSF program, a professorship endowment comprises a minimum of $60,000 in contributions and $40,000 in state matching funds, totaling $100,000. Multiples of these amounts also qualify for matching funds, thus gifts of $120,000 may be matched with $80,000; gifts of $180,000 may be matched with $120,000; and so on.

At the current and projected rates of net earnings on endowments, each increment of $100,000 will provide currently approximately four percent or $4,000 annually. Donors may name the professorship.

A professorship has significant value in attracting, encouraging, and retaining faculty members who perform well in their teaching, research, and academic leadership roles. Professorships offer the prestige of recognition, and the supplementary stipend provides a tangible reward for merit.

Applications for BRSF professorship matches do not require competitive proposals or national searches. Professorships are especially valuable as awards for the most outstanding members of the current faculty. Selection of the recipients is made by the LSU administration. Selection of the academic discipline of the professorship may be done by the administration or by the donor.