Section: 230-191
Effective: 01/28/2025
Supersedes: 11/01/2003 PPM 230-8
Next Review Date: 01/28/2025
Issuance Date: 01/28/2025
Issuing Office:  Academic Personnel Services

Endowed Chairs and Professorships

 

PPM 230-191.A Scope andPolicy

 

1.                  Thispolicy guides the establishment and administration of all endowed chairs andprofessorships, including distinguished professorships, which are typically establishedby a gift or allocation. For convenience, all will collectively be referred toas endowed chairs. Chair funds are held by either The Regents or the UC SanDiego Foundation depending on the terms.

 

2.                  Endowedchairs are awarded to honor extraordinary academic achievement and to recruit and retain the most distinguished scholars. An endowed chair is a perquisite that is supportedby payouts from the endowment fund and is made available to a distinguished faculty member insupport of their teaching, research, and service activities. An endowed chair may be assigned to a department, division, or school.

 

PPM 230-191.B Establishment of an Endowed Chair

 

PPM 230-191.B.1 Funding of the EndowedChair

 

a.      Allcontacts and discussions with prospective donors shall be coordinated with UCSan Diego Advancement.

 

b.      Theminimum amount of a gift or gifts required to establish an endowed chair shallnot be less than $1,000,000 (amounts in certain academic areas are higher, see PPM 410- 30).

 

c.      Apledge to establish an endowed chair shall be in such a form as to constitute alegally binding commitment by the donor. For Endowed chairs held by the UC SanDiego Foundation, endowment payout is transferred to The Regents in accordancewith Administrative Guidelines for CampusFoundations.

 

d.      Establishmentof an endowed chair shall be conditional upon full funding by a specifiedclosing date. The gift agreement shall include a proposed payment schedulespecified at the time of Chancellor approval, unless there is a legallybinding, irrevocable commitment to complete the funding by bequest or similardeferred gift for which there can be no predetermined termination date. A requestto approve the establishment of an endowed chair shall not be made prior toreceipt of at least one-fourth of the total sum requiredto fund the chair endowment.

 

e.      Aproposal to fund all or any portion of a chair endowment through a deferredgift or future bequest will be based on established UC San Diego Advancement policiesand protocols, which may include review by the Campus Chief Financial Officerand Chief Campus Counsel. Before a commitment is made to a prospective donor toestablish and name an endowed chair, the deferred gift or bequest must have anestimated remainder equal to or in excess of the minimum dollar amount requiredto fund the chair.

 

f.        Wheneverfull funding of the endowment is dependent upon receipt of future pledgepayments or upon realization of a deferred gift or bequest, the donor should beencouraged to include in the governing gift instrument (a) a provisionpermitting alternative University uses of the payout during the period in whichpledge payments are being made (b) a provision permitting reallocation toalternative University uses if the minimum funding level is not achieved, and(c) a provision for a donor intending to make a bequest to provide annual payoutreplacement during the donor&s lifetime.

 

g.      The gift instrument shallpermit the Chancellor of UC SanDiego to re-designate the endowed chair and the use of the annual payout to analternative area of the campus if the subject area of the endowed chair becomesinconsistent with the University's mission or the academic plan of the campus.Such alternative uses shall be as closelyrelated to the donor's originalintent as feasible.

 

PPM230-191.B.2 Chair Definitions

 

            The two typesof endowed chairs at UC San Diego are:

 

a.       Term Endowed Chair. A chair with a set appointmentterm (e.g., five years) may be used to honor a distinguished UC San Diego facultymember or to attract a distinguished scholar and teacher to the UC San Diego faculty.Appointment to a term endowed chair will be for the number of years proposedand approved at the time of appointment and/or reappointment. Term endowedchair holders may be eligible for additional terms. In general, a reappointmentto a term endowed chair is considered a newappointment.[1]

 

Academic appointees eligible for a TermEndowed Chair are:

 

      AllSenate Faculty

      HSClinical Faculty

      AdjunctFaculty[2] (excluding Professor of Practice)

 

b.      AdministrativeChair.Anadministrative chair is intended to enhance the attractiveness and academicprestige of an academic administrative position for a distinguished scholarand teacher. Appointment to such an endowed chair is limited to a senior faculty member who isor will be a Dean, Department Chair, director, or holder of an equivalentadministrative position and is for the period of the appointee&s tenurein the associated administrative position.

 

PPM230-191.C Chair Proposal Criteria

 

1.                  TheChancellor retains authority for establishing and naming endowed chairs andprofessorships contingent upon funding of the endowment for the chair.

 

2.                  No final commitment to establish and name a chair shall be made to a prospective donor prior to Chancellor approval. Any purported commitment toestablish an endowed chair prior to receiving Chancellor approval shall be nulland void.

 

3.                  Achair may be named in honor of the donor or an honoree proposed by the donor,subject to approval by the Chancellor.

 

4.                  Deansand Department Chairs should work together with the donor, the appropriate ViceChancellor and UC San Diego Advancement to ensure that the proposed endowedchair has the appropriate criteria to allow for breadth and flexibility. Thechair definition should be broad enough to allow new research directions and toensure as broad a candidate pool as possible. Completed proposals are reviewedfor campus approval as detailed below in section PPM 230-191.C.1

 

PPM 230-191.C.1 Proposal for Creation ofan Endowed Chair

 

Aproposal to establish an endowed chair will be provided by the Dean or ViceChancellor of the benefiting unit, and should address the following:

 

a.      Howis the proposed endowed chair consistent with the missionof the University and campus academic plan?

 

¢       Ifthe proposed endowed chair requires that the holder be appointed in a specificarea, describe how such a requirement is consistent with the priorities of thedepartment, school, or university.

 

b.      Whetherthe proposed endowed chair requires the campus to commit a new FTE in an  area consistent with the needsof the campus.  If required, discuss how such a commitment isconsistent with the needs of the proposed unit and whether the FTE will bebudgeted and funded for the duration of the endowed chair appointment withoutregard to the chair&s annual payout.

 

c.      Ensurethe proposed endowed chair criteria do not make demands that are inappropriateor difficult to adhere to (e.g., too narrow a research focus)

 

Aproposal for the establishment of a new endowed chair shall be reviewed andendorsed by the following, in the order specified:

 

a.       Department Chair (if applicable)

 

b.       Dean

 

c.       Appropriate ViceChancellor

 

d.       Applicable UC San DiegoCommittee

 

¢       GeneralCampus and Scripps Institution of Oceanography:

 

¢       UCSan Diego Divisional Senate&s Educational Policy Committee

 

¢       HealthSciences:

 

¢       HealthSciences Faculty Council

 

e.       Executive ViceChancellor-Academic Affairs

 

f.        Chancellor

 

Seedetailed procedures at: Endowed Chairs on Blink.

 

PPM 230-191.C.2 Appointment andReappointment to a Term Endowed Chair

 

Approval[3] of theestablishment of the endowed chair is required prior to an appointment beingmade.

 

      Candidatesnominated to fill endowed chairs must hold a full-time faculty appointment.

 

      TheChancellor has the authority to grant exceptions to the appointment of endowedchairs.

 

a.      Department-basedEndowed Chairs

 

Ifthe endowed chair is assigned to a department, the Department Chair will engagein a consultative process to identify candidate(s) for the endowed chair.

 

TheDepartment Chair shall then choose a committee consisting of five members(three from the department and two from outside of the department) to reviewthe qualifications of the candidate(s). The selected candidate&s scholarlyrecord must be highly distinguished and meritorious and in harmony with thestated terms, goals and purpose of the endowed chair.

 

b.      Non-Department-basedEndowed Chair

 

Ifthe endowed chair is not assigned to a specific department, the Dean and/orapplicable Vice Chancellor will engage in a consultative process to identifycandidate(s) for the endowed chair. The Dean and/or applicable Vice Chancellor shallthen choose a committee consisting of five members to review the qualificationsof the candidate(s). The selected candidate&s scholarly record must be highlydistinguished and meritorious and in harmony with the stated terms, goals, andpurpose of the endowed chair.

 

Ifa candidate is not currently a UC San Diego appointee, appointment to an endowedchair shall be made in accordance with established University and campusprocedures for faculty appointments (see PPM 230-220).After a thorough search for a candidate, an academic appointment file will besubmitted for academic and administrative review. The file will address theappointment to the endowed chair as well as the candidate&s qualifications foracademic appointment. Campus reviewers will comment separately on the academicappointment and on the suitability of the candidate to occupy the endowedchair.

 

PPM230-191.C.3 Term Endowed Chair Appointment Review and Endorsement

 

Anendowed chair appointment nomination proposal shall be reviewed and endorsed bythe following, in the order specified:

 

      Reviewcommittee

 

      DepartmentChair (if applicable)

 

      Dean

 

      AppropriateVice Chancellor

 

      SenateCommittee on Academic Personnel (CAP)

 

      ExecutiveVice Chancellor-Academic Affairs

 

      Chancellor

 

See detailed procedure at: EndowedChairs on Blink.

 

PPM230-191.C.4 Reappointment to a Term Endowed Chair

 

Ingeneral, reappointment to an endowed chair must be reviewed by a departmentalreview committee.

 

Deansmay request an exception to the review committee requirement in cases where achair holder&s record of accomplishment continues to be highly distinguished,meritorious, and in harmony with an endowed chair&s terms, goals, and purpose.Requests to forgo review by a committee should articulate why a chair holder&sreappointment is in the best interest of the department, school, and/orUniversity.

 

Reappointmentto a Term Endowed Chair must follow and adhere to the same review andendorsement requirements as Term Endowed Chair appointments, see previoussection PPM 230-191.C.2.

 

PPM 230-191.C.4 Appointment to anAdministrative Chair

 

a.      Approval[4] of the establishment of theendowed chair is required prior to an appointment being made.

 

      A candidatenominated to fill an endowedchair must hold a full- time faculty appointment.

 

      Oncethe candidate has been approved to hold the administrative appointment withwhich an endowed chair is associated, the appropriate Vice Chancellor willdesignate the candidate for the administrative position as the nominee for theendowed chair and will forward the nomination to the Chancellor via theAcademic Personnel Office for appointment.

 

PPM 230-191.D Use of Endowed Chair Payout

 

Guidelines for the allocation of endowed chair payouts areprovided in the Appendices of this policy.

 

1.   Endowmentpayout made available to holders of endowed chairs shall be used to support theteaching, research, and service activities of the chairholder, in accordance with the gift orallocation terms andUniversity regulations, and according to a budget recommended annually by the chairholderto the Department Chair and approved by the appropriate Vice Chancellor, exceptas noted in Section D.2 below. The use of endowment payout to support the basesalary of the chairholder must be made in accordance with University policy andcampus procedures.

 

2.   Endowmentpayout made available to the holder of an administrative chair may be used tosupport the teaching, research, and service activities of the department,research unit, or school in accordance with the gift or allocation terms andUniversity regulations. The administrative chairholder shall determine such useof the payout, according to a budget approved annually by the appropriate Dean(unless the chairholder is a Dean) or the Executive Vice Chancellor- AcademicAffairs.

 

3.   The termsof the endowment shall be reviewed from time to time to ensure that the University is continuing to fulfillits legal obligations to use the endowed chair payout in a mannerconsistent with the donor'sexpressed intent.

 

4.   Ifan established, fully funded chair has remained vacant for a period of two (2) consecutiveyears or more, or if a field chair's accumulated payout exceeds two (2) years,the campus shall review the fund's terms and administrative history toascertain the reason for the accumulation and take appropriate correctiveaction consistent with the terms of the gift instrument or consistent with the terms of the administrative allocation.

 

5.    Areview of the terms and uses of an endowment payout will be performed annuallyby UC San Diego Advancement Services and recommended actions will be made toensure the University is fulfilling its legal obligation to utilize the chairpayout fully in a manner consistent with the gift instrument. As a guide, an accumulatedchair payout should not exceed two (2) years of the endowed chair's currentannual payout.

 

PPM 230-191.E Addition of Income to Principal

 

1.    Standard language inall gift agreements and campus allocations will be included to permit theaddition of chair payouts to principals when not needed for the specified use.The Chancellor or the Chancellor's designee is authorized to approve theaddition of unexpended chair payouts to the endowed chair fund principal.

 

2.    Gift agreements willalso provide for redirecting the endowment to alternative University uses ifthe minimum funding level is not ultimately realized or if the subject areaceases to be consistent with the University&s mission or the campus& academicplan.

 

PPM 230-191.F Disestablishment of an Endowed Chair

 

1.    Subject to any giftagreement provisions that provide for the resignation of an endowed chair&sarea and/or alternative uses, the Chancellor, upon recommendation by theExecutive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs and following consultation with ChiefCampus Counsel, is authorized to disestablish an endowed chair in the eventthat:

 

a.    A donor has made requestfor disestablishment

 

b.    The subject area ceasesto be consistent with the University's mission or the academic plan of thecampus; or

 

c.    The endowed chairremains vacant for a period of three (3) consecutive years and the Chancellor,after consultation with the appropriate Vice Chancellor, appropriate Dean, andthe Department Chair, determines there is no likelihood of filling the chair.

 

2.    Upon disestablishmentof an endowed chair, the endowment and any accumulated payout shall bereallocated to an alternative purpose if stated in the gift instrument or assubsequently specified by the donor in consultation with the Chancellor, or asdetermined by the Chancellor and permitted by the gift agreement, inconsultation with the Chief Campus Counsel. If a donor is deceased and has notspecified an alternative purpose, the campus shall request the assistance of ChiefCampus Counsel for a review and in obtaining any necessary court approvals foran alternative use of the endowment payout in a related field.

 

PPM230-191.G Reporting

 

1.   Thechairholder and unit business offices will be informed annually by UC San DiegoAdvancement Services of the projected payout available for the chairholder&suse for the following year.

 

2.   Eachchairholder shall submit a brief annual narrative of the past year's activities,a report on the use of the endowment payout that supported them, and a budgetrequest for the upcoming year to the Department Chair for transmittal to theappropriate Vice Chancellor for approval. The narratives are to be retained bythe chairholder, Department Chair, applicable Vice Chancellor, and UC San DiegoAdvancement Services for use in preparing annual reports on endowed chairs todonors or others.

 

Submitted annual narratives will be retained atthe department and/or school for a minimum three (3) year retention period. UCSan Diego Advancement Services will maintain a copy of all narrative reportsfor historical purposes.

 

REVISIONHISTORY

 

February 12, 1982               Thispolicy was originally issued.

 

July 16, 1984                      Thispolicy was revised and reissued.

 

November 1, 2003               Thispolicy was made effective.

 

April 23, 2018                      Minor technical edits to updatenames and policyhyperlinks.

 

April2, 2020                        Technical editsto remove genderedlanguage.

 

January 28, 2025                Thispolicy was revised and reissued.

 

 



Appendix I: UC San Diego Guidelines for Endowed Chair

 

Theseguidelines apply to all endowed chairs and chair appointments established afterJanuary 1, 2015. Departments are responsible for ensuring appropriate practicesrelated to these commitments and should expect to report annually to their Deanand the Office of Donor and Fund Stewardship on activities related to thesechairs.

 

EndowedChairs

 

A.     Gift or Allocation Minimums

 

General Campus

$1,000,000

Health Sciences

$2,000,000

Marin Sciences

$2,000,000

B.      Term

 

      SeePPM 230-191.B.2, Chair Definitions

 

C.      Annual Payout (N)

 

      Chair HolderAllowance            $25,000

Thefirst $25,000 of annual payout from the fund will provide a scholarly allowance to be available for expenditure on UC San Diego related uses at the discretionof chair holder [e.g., GCCP or HSCP/Y component, grad or post-doc support,research support, scholarly travel]

 

      Balance of Payout                     (N- $25,000)

Anyremainder of payout after deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance is to beallocated for use as determined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor forsome combination of academic year salary support for the chair holder andsupport for graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

Administrative Chairs

 

A.           Gift and Allocation Minimums

 

Dean/Chairs

$3,000,000

Vice Chancellors

$5,000,000

 

B.           AnnualPayout (N):

 

      Chair Holder Allowance                        $25,000

The first $25,000 may be used at the discretion of the chair holder

 

      Remainder of Payout                            (N- $25,000)

 

Availabletowards the salary of chairholder.

 

Managing Endowed Chair Payout

 

Appointments made to endowed chairs priorto January 1, 2015, have a grandfather provision for existing chair holders. In those cases, all payout will be used for the scholarly activities of thechair holder.

 

      Legacyendowed chairs will transition to the new payout rules when the chair holder changes if consonant with the chair establishment documents.

 

      Existinglegacy chair holders may transition to the new rules voluntarily at the time oftheir next schedule endowed chair review/reappointment.

 

Commitmentsto retiring or separating chair holders regarding access to fund balances for atransitionary period require prior approval by the Executive ViceChancellor-Academic Affairs.

 

      Aformal request that includes appropriate justification, amounts, timelines, andimpact to filling the chair will be needed.

 

Decisions to move unspent balances backto principal require the Chancellor&s approval.

 

      A requestthat includes appropriate justification will be needed.

 

Accessto unspent balances on vacant chairs requires approval from the Executive ViceChancellor- Academic Affairs and will need to be permitted in the existingdonor agreement or additional donor permission will need to be sought.

 

      A requestthat includes appropriate justification and the impact to filling the chair will be needed.

 

Payoutbalances are to be expended annually. Payout accumulations should not exceed two(2) years.

 

UC San Diego Advancement Services will requestan annual report from chair holders on their use of endowed chair payout balances.

 

REVISIONHISTORY

 

April2, 2020                    Technicaledits to remove gendered language.

January 28, 2025            Revised andreplaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I

                                                                      


AppendixII:  2015 Chancellor&s Endowed Chair Challenge

 

In 2015, UC San Diego established theChancellor&s Endowed Chair Challenge as part of the Campaign for UC San Diego toexpand the number of endowed chairs and fellowships available to support therecruitment and retention of quality faculty at both senior and junior levels. Establishedchairs included a special naming convention for both the donor and matchsimilar to XXX (donor name) Chancellor&s Endowed Chair in the School of XXX. Thischallenge was completed, but may be used at the Chancellor&s discretion. Thisprogram provides Chancellor match endowment principal funding of $500,000 as anFFE in the Regents to augment the minimum donor gift.

 

A.     MinimumDonor Gift Funding Requirements

 

General Campus

$1,000,000

Health Sciences

$2,000,000

Marin Sciences

$2,000,000

 

B.     AnnualPayout (N)

 

      Chair Holder Allowance                             $25,000

 

Thefirst $25,000 payout from the donor fund will provide a scholarly allowance tobe available for expenditure for UC San Diego related uses at the discretion ofchair holder [e.g., GCCP or HSCP/Y component, grad or post- doc support,research support, scholarly travel]

 

      Balance of Payout                                     (N-$25,000)

 

Asdetermined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor, any remaining payoutafter deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance is to be used for somecombination of academic year salary support for the chair holder and supportfor graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

      MatchingChancellor&s Fund (Regents FFE)

 

Payout from the matching endowment must be used towards payment of anyacademic year salary of the chair holder (NOT summer salary, General CampusCompensation Plan (GCCP), or the Y component of Health Sciences CompensationPlan (HSCP)).

 

***Departmentsare responsible for ensuring appropriate practices related to these commitmentsand should expect to report annually to the Dean and Office of DonorStewardship on activities related to these chairs.

 

REVISIONHISTORY

 

April 2, 2020                    Technicaledits to remove gendered language.

 

January 28, 2025            Revisedand replaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I.

 

 


Appendix III: 2014 Presidential Match Endowed Chair Program

 

The Office of the President establishedthe Presidential Match for Endowed Chairs in 2014 as an incentive to encouragedonors to establish endowed faculty chairs. It was funded through thePresidential Endowment Fund and provides campuses with a $500,000 PresidentialMatch once campuses raised at least $500,000 per chair in donor funds.

 

This program required the creation oftwo funds:

 

       Minimum Donor Fund(provided by the donor)                 $500,000

       Matching Regents Fund(provided by the President)        $500,000

 

A.     AnnualPayout (N):

 

       Donor Fund - As determined by theappropriate academic Vice Chancellor, this is used for some combination ofacademic year salary support for the chair holder and support for graduatestudents in the research area of the chair holder.

 

      Matching RegentsFund (FFE)

 

 Chair Holder Allowance           $25,000

 

Scholarly allowance at discretion of chair holder [e.g., GCCP or Y component, grad or post- doc support, research support,scholarly travel]

 

 Balance of Payout                    (N-$25,000)

 

Remainderafter deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance. As determined by the appropriateacademic Vice Chancellor, this is used for some combination of academic yearsalary support for the chair holder and support for graduate students in theresearch area of the chair holder.

 

REVISION HISTORY

 

April2, 2020                   Technicaledits to remove gendered language.

January 28, 2025            Revised andreplaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I

 

 



[1]Asof January 2015, Term Endowed Chairs became the standard for an endowed chairat UC San Diego and no new Permanent Endowed Chairs will be authorized.Permanent Endowed Chairs are those whose appointees are permanent for theduration of their academic tenure at UC San Diego per the terms of theassociated gift agreement.  Faculty appointed to a permanent Endowed Chairprior to 2015 will retain the Chair until vacated. A permanent Endowed Chair isdeclared vacant at the time of retirement, termination, or death of thechair-holder.

[2]Adjunctfaculty eligible to receive a Term Endowed Chair appointment must be full time,salaried appointees. Professor of Practice is a UC San Diego working title forAdjunct faculty and are not eligible to receive a Term or AdministrativeEndowed Chair appointment.

[3]Regents&Standing Order 100.4 (dd) issued July 11, 2019 delegated general authority tothe Chancellor to establish, name and disestablish Endowed Chairs. Chairs established prior to this delegation receivedapproval from the President. Chairs established after July 11, 2019 are approved by the Chancellor.

[4]Regents&Standing Order 100.4 (dd) issued July 11, 2019 delegated general authority tothe Chancellor to establish, name and disestablish Endowed Chairs. Chairs established prior to this delegation receivedapproval from the President. Chairs established after July 11, 2019 are approved by the Chancellor.