REG 05.20.17 – Professorships of Distinction

Authority: Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

History: First Issued: November 14, 1986. Last Revised: March 19, 2019.

Related Policies:
UNC Policy 600.2.3 – Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund

Additional References:
N.C.G.S. §116-41.17
Professorships of Distinction: Recognizing Excellence, Building Excellence
List of Currently Active Professors of Distinction
Department Rules for Named Professors and Named Term Professors

Giving and Naming Opportunities
Example Memo from Dean to Provost requesting approval of review committee
Example for Memo from Dean to Provost recommending appointment
SOP-Use of Professor of Distinction Title with Emeritus or Emerita Status

Contact Info: Senior Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs (919-513-7741)


1.  INTRODUCTION 

1.1 This regulation defines the types of professorships of distinction with their associated titles and establishes uniform criteria and procedures for awarding these professorships.  This regulation does not apply to the Alumni Distinguished Graduate and Undergraduate Professor Awards.

2.  TYPES OF PROFESSORSHIPS OF DISTINCTION

2.1  Named Distinguished Faculty Chair and Named Distinguished University Faculty Chair

2.1.1  Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities.  May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.

2.1.2  Named Distinguished Chairs may be held by a tenured Professor as long as the recipient remains a full time faculty member or for a limited period as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Professorship or when it is vacated.  The title will be “[Name] Distinguished Chair.”

2.1.3  If the recipient also meets the criteria for Distinguished University Professor this may be added.  The title will be “[Name] Distinguished University Chair.”.

2.2  Named Distinguished Professor and Named Distinguished University Professor

2.2.1  Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities.  May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.

2.2.2  Named Distinguished Professorships may be held by a tenured Professor as long as the recipient remains a full time faculty member or for a limited period as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Professorship or when it is vacated. The title will be “[Name] Distinguished Professor.”

2.2.3  If the recipient also meets the criteria for Distinguished University Professor this may be added.  The title will be “[Name] Distinguished University Professor.”

2.3  Named Distinguished Scholar

2.3.1  Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities.  May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.

2.3.2  Named Distinguished Scholars may be held by a tenured or tenure track Associate Professor for a time-limited, renewable term during a faculty member’s full-time service at the rank of associate professor and as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Scholar or when it is vacated.  The title will be “[Name] Distinguished Scholar.”

2.4  Named Distinguished Fellow

2.4.1  Supported at the minimum endowment level prescribed by NC State Advancement naming opportunities.  May be supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund or 100% by donor.

2.4.2  Named Distinguished Fellows may be held by a tenure-track Assistant Professor for a time-limited, renewable term during a faculty member’s full-time service at the rank of assistant professor and as authorized by the Board of Trustees at the time of the original establishment of the Distinguished Fellow or when it is vacated.  The title will be “[Name] Distinguished Fellow.”

2.5  Named Professorships Grandfathered as of May 17, 2011

2.5.1  As of September 30, 2010 the value of the endowment of the professorships listed in section 8 was below Advancement’s minimum for a Named professorship.  Thus, as of May 17, 2011 they are grandfathered as Named Professorships.  Incumbents of these professorships as of May 17, 2011 will retain their existing title, but when these are vacated they are no longer eligible to have the addition of ‘Distinguished’ to the title.

2.5.2.  As of September 30, 2010 no new Named Professorships may be created.

2.6.  Named Term Professorships

2.6.1  Privately funded professorships at the Professor, Associate Professor or Assistant Professor rank that are established by agreement between a donor and the University or an affiliated university foundation.  These are funded at the minimum level prescribed by the NC State Advancement on an annual basis for a time limited period and criteria are specified by the donor. The title may include “Term” (e.g. [Name] Professor or [Name] Term Professor) but may not include “Distinguished.”

2.7  Distinguished Professor (unfunded, not named)

2.7.1  Recognition which has no specific funds associated with or supporting the honor that are bestowed on candidates meeting the intellectual criteria set forth in Section 3. The title will be “Distinguished Professor.”

2.7.2  The total number of Distinguished Professors appointed on or after March 1, 2005 is capped for each college at 4% of the total number of tenured/tenure-track faculty, all fractions rounded up to next whole number, on the official fall semester census date.  Exceptions to the cap may be approved by the Chancellor.

2.8  Distinguished University Professor (unfunded, not named)

2.8.1  Recognition which has no specific funds associated with or supporting the honor that are bestowed on candidates meeting the intellectual criteria set forth in Section 3. The title will be “Distinguished University Professor.”

2.8.2  The total number of Distinguished University Professors appointed on or after March 1, 2005 is capped for each college at 2% of the total number of tenured/tenure-track faculty, all fractions rounded up to next whole number, or two, whichever is greater, on the official fall semester census date.  Exceptions to the cap may be approved by the Chancellor.

3.  CRITERIA

3.1  Named Distinguished Faculty Chair, Named Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Professor

3.1.1  The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenured professor who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for the rank of professor and be considered one of the best scholars in the discipline.  Named Distinguished Faculty Chairs and Distinguished Professors will be known and respected nationally and internationally by scholars in their field.

3.1.2  In the case of Named Distinguished Faculty Chairs and Named Distinguished Professorships the candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.

3.2  Named Distinguished University Faculty Chair, Named Distinguished University Professor and Distinguished University Professor

3.2.1  The candidate will have attained all the criteria for a Distinguished Professor and, in addition, have improved the quality of NC State and served its mission through service and involvement in the campus community.

3.2.2  The “University” title recognizes an individual’s contributions and hence transfers between any distinguished professor or chair titles that individual may hold at the university.

3.3  Named Distinguished Scholar

3.3.1  The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenured associate professor who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for the rank of associate professor and be considered one of the top up and coming scholars in the discipline.  Named Distinguished Scholars will be known and respected nationally and potentially internationally by scholars in their field.  The candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.

3.4  Named Distinguished Fellow

3.4.1  The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenure-track assistant professor who has achieved recognition well above the criteria for the rank of assistant professor and be considered to possess a strong potential to become one of the best in the discipline.  The candidate must also meet the criteria established by the donor as set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement if 100% donor supported or in the Plan for establishment of the Distinguished Professorship submitted by the Chancellor and approved by the President if supported in part by the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund.

3.5  Named Term Professorships and Named Professorships

3.5.1  The candidate must be an outstanding current or potential tenured faculty member who meets the criteria of the privately funded professorship.

4.  SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR NAMED DISTINGUISHED FACULTY CHAIR, NAMED DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY FACULTY CHAIR, NAMED AND UNNAMED DISTINGUISHED AND DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS, AND NAMED DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS AND FELLOWS

4.1  The donor agreement for professorships funded 100% by the donor or the plan required from the Chancellor for the establishment of a professorship with partial funding from the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund will describe the academic department or other unit to which the professorship will be assigned, whether it will be filled by an external or internal appointment or by either, and whether the appointment may be time limited.

4.2  The Dean shall recommend a number of faculty members sufficient to allow the Provost to select a committee, including a chair, which shall be comprised of no fewer than five persons with a majority being professors of distinction whenever possible, and with representation of the nominee’s discipline, as appropriate.  When evaluating a nominee’s qualifications for the “University” distinction, at least one member of the committee must have the “University” distinction.

4.3  The committee shall obtain and review information on the qualifications of the nominee and make a recommendation to the Dean.  The Dean makes a recommendation to the Provost who then makes a recommendation to the Chancellor.

4.4  The Chancellor’s decision is final.

4.5  For professorships in this category that are to rotate across colleges, the Dean of the college in which the professorship has become vacant shall inform the Provost of the vacancy.  The Provost shall determine which college may next fill the professorship, including reassigning to the current holder.  As of November 1, 2012 there are two of these professorships:  William C. Friday Distinguished Professor and Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor.

5.  SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR NAMED TERM PROFESSORSHIPS AND GRANDFATHERED NAMED PROFESSORSHIPS

5.1  This section pertains to Named Term Professorships created after May 17, 2011 and the grandfathered Named Professorships designated in Section 2.5.

5.2  The Dean of the College in which the professorship resides will by Rule determine the procedures to be followed for selection.  Such procedures shall be consistent with the criteria and procedures, if any, specified by the donor and agreed to in writing by the university.

5.3  Dean informs the Provost and Chancellor of awards.

6.  PROCEDURE UPON PROMOTION OF NAMED DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR OR NAMED DISTINGUISHED FELLOW

6.1  In the event that a Named Distinguished Fellow is promoted from Assistant Professor to the rank of Associate Professor, the title will be “Associate Professor and Distinguished Fellow” until such time as the individual is evaluated for consideration as a Named Distinguished Scholar per the criteria described in Section 3 and selection procedures described in Section 4.

6.2  In the event that a Named Distinguished Scholar is promoted from Associate Professor to the rank of Professor, the title will be “Professor and Distinguished Scholar” until such time as the individual is evaluated for consideration as a Distinguished Professor, whether named or unnamed, per the criteria described in Section 3 and selection procedures described in Section 4.

7.  REVIEW OF PROFESSORS OF DISTINCTION

7.1 For professorships that are awarded for a set term and allow an incumbent to be reappointed, the Dean will appoint a committee to review and recommend whether or not to reappoint.  The Dean’s decision is final and shall be communicated to the Provost.

7.2  For professorships awarded for the duration of a faculty member’s career at the university, colleges may, at the time of award, stipulate the review of an incumbent’s qualifications on a specific frequency (no more frequently than every five years).  Such reviews shall utilize a committee as defined in Section 4.2.  The committee shall obtain and review information on the qualifications of the incumbent and make a recommendation to the Dean.

7.2.1  The Dean’s acceptance of a committee recommendation to continue the appointment is final and shall be communicated to the Provost.

7.2.2  If the committee, the Dean, or both recommend discontinuation of an appointee’s distinction, then the Dean shall make a recommendation to the Provost who then makes a recommendation to the Chancellor.  The Chancellor’s decision is final.

7.3  For exceptional circumstances, such as an incumbent being subject to the imposition of serious sanctions as defined in Section 8 of NCSU POL05.20.01 Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Permanent Tenure, a Dean may recommend to the Provost at any time the review of a professor of distinction using the procedure described in Section 7.2.

8.  GRANDFATHERED NAMED PROFESSORSHIPS

8.1 The following professorships are grandfathered as Named Professorships effective May 17, 2011.  If awarded after May 17, 2011 no additional modifiers may be added to the title.

8.2 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

8.2.1 Philip Morris

8.3 College of Education

8.3.1 William Dallas Herring

8.4 College of Engineering

8.4.1 Alcoa

8.4.2 Alton & Mildred Lancaster

8.4.3 Camille & Henry Dreyfus

8.4.4 Celanese Acetate

8.4.5 INVISTA

8.4.6 James T. Ryan

8.4.7 R. J. Reynolds

8.4.8 Walter Clark

8.5 College of Natural Resources

8.5.1 Alwin Schenck

8.5.2 Edwin F. Conger

8.5.3 Elis & Signe Olsson

8.5.4 E.J. “Woody” Rice

8.5.5 Reuben B. Robertson

8.6 College of Sciences

8.6.1 Drexel

8.7 College of Textiles

8.7.1 Charles A. Cannon

8.7.2 Ciba-Geigy

8.8 College of Veterinary Medicine

8.8.1 Burroughs Wellcome Fund