The endowment of chairs and related positions provides a means by which West Virginia University can recruit and retain, on a competitive basis, outstanding teachers, scholars, researchers, and creative and performing artists. The following policies are applicable to such endowments.

I. Creation and Assignment of Endowed Positions

A. Endowed positions created from a general university endowment or from an endowment established without specification of particular academic units of the university shall be assigned, and reassigned when vacated, by the President of the University, on the recommendations of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research or the Vice President for Health Sciences.

B. A donor may expressly assign an endowment to a particular academic unit. The university will accept donor assignments to particular subject matters within academic units only after consultation with the faculty and dean of the unit concerned. Endowments may be refused by the university or by the faculty of the assigned academic unit on the ground that acceptance would be detrimental to the academic mission of the university or unit.

C. Whenever legally possible and agreeable to the donor, the endowment agreement should provide that if, in the judgment of the President of the University, on the advice of the appropriate Vice President(s), an endowment can no longer be utilized effectively as intended by the donor, it may be utilized in another manner that relates most closely to the donor's desired intent--provided, however, that a named endowment shall retain its nominal designation.

D. All appointments of individuals to endowed positions shall be made in accordance with the standards and procedures set forth in Part III of these policies.

II. Classification of Endowments

A. The minimum amounts required to activate endowed positions may be obtained from the West Virginia University Foundation.

1. An endowed chair (e.g., the John Landers Chair in Biology) is a position that is primarily funded by endowment income. An endowment of at least one million dollars is required; higher sums may be required to establish chairs in certain disciplines.

2. An endowed professorship (e.g., the Mary Smith Professorship in History) is a position that is partially funded by State funds or by endowment income. An endowment of at least $250,000 is required; higher sums may be required to establish professorships in certain disciplines.

3. An endowed fellowship (e.g., the Robert Mills Fellowship in Theatre) is a position that is partially funded by State funds or by endowment income and is assigned to an individual on a one-year basis. An endowment of at least $50,000 is required.

4. An endowed lectureship (e.g., the Willard Pierce Lectureship in Law) supports periodic lectures (or performances) and related activities and is fully funded by an endowment of at least $50,000.

Visiting chairs, professorships, and fellowships are also subject to the respective endowment requirements listed above.

Following appropriate administrative and faculty consultations, the university may increase the minimum endowment requirements.

B. Whenever agreeable to the donor, the endowment agreement should provide that a portion of the income generated each year by the endowment will be retained and added to the principal to help compensate for the effects of inflation.

C. Whenever agreeable to the donor, the endowment agreement should provide that a portion of the income generated by the endowment be devoted to providing secretarial and research support, library support, and support for professional travel, to the holder of the endowed position. Distinguished teachers, scholars, researchers, and creative and performing artists need such support, and should not be forced to compete for scarce university resources.

D. A fund to create an endowed position may be established with a contribution of not less than 10%, or $10,000, whichever is greater, of the required minimum to activate such a position. The endowment agreement must provide for the disposition of the endowment if sufficient additional contributions are not received to activate the position within a specified period of time; whenever agreeable to the donor, it should provide that the fund may be either converted by the university to a position requiring a smaller endowment or added by the university to the university endowment that relates most closely to the donor's desired intent.

E. All privately funded endowments are administered by the West Virginia University Foundation. Consistent with the fiduciary role of the WVU Foundation, representatives from the Foundation should be involved in the preparation and execution of agreements under which endowed funds will be administered.

III. Standards and Procedures for Appointments

A. In the absence of a clear specification by the donor to the contrary, all endowed positions may be filled from either within or outside the university faculty.

B. Appointees to endowed positions must have a record of distinguished academic or professional work in an appropriate field. Such distinction will be judged in national terms, as compared with colleagues in peer institutions. Satisfaction of this standard must be verified at the departmental and college levels, and confirmed by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research and/or the Vice President for Health Sciences, before a nomination is submitted to the President.

C. Internal peer review is essential for all nominees for endowed positions.

D. The university's commitment to affirmative action and goals of the affirmative action program will be considered in appointing nominees to endowed positions.

E. The following procedures will be followed normally in the case of nominees for endowed positions within particular departments in a college when the position is being filled from within the university faculty:

1. The department, chairperson, or dean that nominates an individual for an endowed position will compile a file on the nominee that will contain a peer review of supporting evidence for the nomination and a list of five external individuals qualified to evaluate the nominee. The nominator(s) will include in the nominee's file a specification of the nature of his or her distinguished work. The file will then be submitted to the dean.

2. The dean will establish an ad hoc review committee of five persons, including, if possible, endowed position holders, to review the department's nomination. The review committee will be composed of at least two faculty members outside the discipline, and at least two members outside the college. (These two criteria may be met by the same individual.)

3. The review committee will review the supporting evidence and seek external letters of appraisal either from the list of names submitted by the department or from other eminent scholars qualified to evaluate the nominee. The committee will then make a recommendation to the dean as to approval or disapproval of the nomination. A rationale for either action must be presented in writing to the department as well as to the dean.

F. Nominees for college-wide positions or whose skills cover multi-disciplinary subject areas and who will serve the university across departments within a college or across colleges will be reviewed at the college or university level, respectively. The review committee, consisting of five people, will include three faculty members closely aligned to the nominee's primary focus as well as two endowed position holders. The committee will be appointed by the dean or the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research or the Vice President for Health Sciences, as appropriate.

G. In the case of a college without departments, nominations by the dean shall be reviewed by a committee appointed by the appropriate Vice President.

H. When persons external to the university are sought for an endowed position, a faculty search committee will be appointed by the dean of the college or school. That committee will consist of at least five members, two of whom will be from disciplines other than that in which the position is based. The faculty search guidelines of the university will be observed during the search. External appraisals of the quality of the work of nominees will be sought by the search committee. The search committee will forward its recommendations to the departmental chairperson and college dean.

I. After initial approval by the dean or a review committee, each nomination will be submitted to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research and/or the Vice President for Health Sciences. The Vice President(s) will review the file and approve or disapprove the nomination. If approved, the nomination will be submitted to the President for final decision.

J. Rejection of a nomination at any level will be accompanied by a written justification. If a nomination is rejected, it may be resubmitted with a response to the reasons for rejection.

K. The letter of initial appointment will specify the duration of, and expectations for, the particular endowed position, including, in the case of chairs and professorships, performance criteria and performance review procedures.

L. In general, conditions and expectations stated in the appointment letter will be the principal basis for reviews.

1. Consistent with present policies and procedures on faculty evaluation, an annual review will be conducted at the department level by the peer evaluation committee and the department chairperson. This review will take into account one's productivity over time in addressing the expectations of the appointment letter and/or subsequent agreements.

2. Each year the dean will forward to the Provost or Vice President for Health Sciences a brief report, written by the endowed title holder, that summarizes major activities and accomplishments in the previous year. Consistent with practices of good stewardship, the Provost or Vice President for Health Sciences will annually forward copies of these reports to the WVU Foundation, for distribution, with the annual fiscal reports, to the donors.

3. Holders of endowed and named chairs are expected to perform at high levels that are characterized as excellent in order to retain the title and privileges.

4. If the holder of an endowed or named chair is not performing as expected, a recommendation to revoke continuation of the title and its privileges may be forwarded by the dean to the Provost or Vice President for Health Sciences.

Adopted June 1989

Modified January 1998