UI campaign reaches goal of 100 new endowed faculty positions

Posted September 29, 2004

IOWA CITY -- Private gifts to the University of Iowa's $1 billion Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign have created 100 new UI endowed faculty positions since the campaign began in 1999, reaching its original goal for such positions 15 months before the campaign ends on Dec. 31, 2005.

The campaign milestone was announced by UI Provost Michael Hogan at the third annual Named Deanships, Chairs and Professorships Recognition Luncheon held at the Levitt Center for University Advancement last Friday, Sept. 24. The event brings together contributors who have established endowed positions and the faculty recipients and holders of those positions.

The 100 new endowed faculty positions bring the total number of named faculty positions at the UI to 284; this includes two deanships, 102 chairs and 180 professorships. Campaign guidelines call for a minimum gift commitment in most UI colleges of $500,000 to endow a professorship, $1.5 million to endow a chair and $2 million to endow a deanship.

"This is a tremendous accomplishment, and we owe many thanks to our generous contributors, as well as to the collegiate deans and UI Foundation staff who helped bring these gifts to fruition," said Hogan. "But I believe we owe our greatest debt of thanks to you -- the faculty members whose stellar teaching, research and service efforts are attracting the interest and generosity of our alumni and friends. We pledge to continue our efforts to raise additional faculty funding in the remaining 15 months of the campaign, and we thank you again for making this university so deserving of generous private support."

The campaign's original goal for faculty support was $189 million. When the overall campaign goal was raised to $1 billion last April, $25 million was added to the faculty goal to support fellowships for early- to mid-career faculty. The minimum endowment for a permanent, named faculty fellowship in most UI colleges is $100,000.

Speaking at the luncheon on behalf of contributors was Lawrence D. Dorr, M.D., of La Canada, Calif. In 2000 he and his wife, Marilyn, created the Dr. Lawrence and Marilyn Dorr Chair for Hip Reconstruction and Research in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. In his remarks Dorr outlined four stages of life, the last of which he labeled "Give back better than you took."

"We are here today because all of you have reached this stage and given back to Iowa with time, talents or money," said Dorr, who earned M.S. and M.D. degrees from the UI in 1965 and 1967, respectively. "When faculty such as you nurture enthusiasm and provide the knowledge and skills that empower a kid -- a kid like I was with lofty dreams and high motivation -- to grow from a child to a man, then that kid turned adult will seek significance and meaning in life -- and will leave to the next generation more than he or she was given."

John Beldon Scott, the Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor of the Arts in the School of Art and Art History, represented the UI faculty at the luncheon. He spoke about the importance of research supported by named, endowed faculty positions established through private gifts.

"Teaching and research are the two most important things we do as faculty members; the investigations we conduct in our varied research activities -- whether in the arts, humanities, sciences, law, pharmacy, engineering, business or medicine -- provide the fuel that fires excitement in the classroom for students and instructors alike," said Scott, who is head of art history in the school, which is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "By bringing our research into the classroom, we stimulate a new generation to respond creatively and effectively to issues vital to the well-being of our physical selves, our social comity and our human culture."

The UI's Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign is being conducted under the guidance of the UI Foundation. The seven-year effort (beginning of 1999 through end of 2005) is raising private funds to help launch a variety of initiatives across the university, substantially increase the number of UI scholarships and endowed faculty positions, support new educational and research facilities, build the UI's endowment and fund outreach and service programs to benefit Iowans.

The total of gifts and gift commitments so far to the $1 billion campaign is $770 million.

The UI acknowledges the UI Foundation as the preferred channel for private contributions to all areas of the university. For more information about the Good. Better. Best. Iowa campaign, visit its web site at www.GoodBetterBestIowa.org.

The third annual Named Deanships, Chairs, and Professorships Recognition Luncheon was held at the Levitt Center for University Advancement. The event began with a reception in the LCUA rotunda for the 160 attendees.

UI Provost Michael J. Hogan speaking to the gathered donors and faculty members: "We pledge to continue our efforts to raise additional faculty funding in the remaining 15 months of the campaign, and we thank you again for making this university so deserving of generous private support."

Lawrence D. Dorr (1965 M.S., 1967 M.D.) spoke on behalf of contributors. Dr. Dorr -- a small-town Iowa boy who went on to a high-profile career that has earned him a reputation as one of the nation's top orthopaedic surgons and clinical researchers -- is a clinical professor at the University of Southern California and medical director of the Dorr Arthritis Institute at Centinela Hospital.

Provost Hogan (right) presents Professor John Beldon Scott with a medallion recognizing his endowed UI faculty position, the Elizabeth M. Stanley Professor of the Arts. Scott, a professor in the School of Art and Art History in the UI's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is an accomplished teacher and scholar with numerous publications to his credit who also spoke at the luncheon. E & M Charities, a charitable support organization established by the late Elizabeth M. Stanley and C. Maxwell Stanley of Muscatine, Iowa, provided the initial $1 million gift in 1987 that helped make the Stanley professorship possible.

Contact Information

Steve Sanders
Vice President for Development Programs
(319) 335-3305 or (800) 648-6973

Additional information about supporting faculty positions at the UI also is available on this site.