Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1986 [PAGE 245]

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[April 18

dowments in the name of the donor, and each provides a portion of salary and a discretionary fund for the occupant of the professorship. In an effort to remain competitive with comparable institutions and to attract additional distinguished scholars to the Urbana-Champaign campus, the college has established a Named Professorships Program, made possible through the donations of alumni and friends. Presently, the college's Annual Development Fund is receiving well over $200,000 annually, and the total should exceed $300,000 next year. T h e intent is to invest up to half of each year's income in the Named Professorships Program. T h e professorships are being funded in two parts: salary and discretionary fund. A department receiving a named professor position will provide salary from State funds at the level of a junior position, with the remainder of the salary provided by the college from dollars received annually through savings from faculty turnover. A discretionary fund of $25,000 per year (for scholarly support such as equipment, student assistance, etc.) will be provided from the Annual Development Fund and will continue so long as the appointee holds the position. Each department will have the opportunity of nominating a distinguished scholar for such appointments. Nominees are reviewed by the college's Executive Committee, which then recommends a priority list for recruitment. Currently, five such nominations have been authorized and a sixth is being reviewed. I t is anticipated that a total of ten will be established in the next several years. T h e name by which the professorship is designated will be proposed by the department to honor distinguished individuals within each discipline. Some may be former members of the University of Illinois faculty. Arrangements now have been completed for three such appointments: JEAN BOURGAIN, presently professor of mathematics at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, who will be designated Joseph L. Doob Professor of Mathematics in honor of the distinguished retired mathematician. (Doob served on the faculty at Urbana-Champaign from 1937 to 1978.) CLAUDE J. RAWSON, presently professor of English at University of Warwick, who will be designated George W. Sherburn Professor of English in honor of the long-time faculty member at Harvard and the University of Chicago and a scholar in eighteenth-century English literature. DIMITRI M . MIHALAS, presently senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and professor adjunct in the Department of Astrophysical, Planetary, and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Colorado, will be designated George C. McVittie Professor of Astronomy in honor of the longtime distinguished astronomer who was on the Urbana-Champaign faculty from 1952 to 1971. As these and additional appointments are made, they will be reported to the board with other appointments to the faculty. Dean William Prokasy of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UrbanaChampaign was present to speak to this new program. H e emphasized the value of the "living endowment" (i.e., the college's alumni fund that provides money for the discretionary fund), an integrable part of the program. T h e trustees expressed their pleasure in support of this initiative by the college and the benefit the program will bring to the University.

This report was received for record.

Establishment of Department of Statistics, Urbana

(15) T h e Urbana-Champaign Senate has recommended the establishment of a Department of Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.