The Secret Power of Endowed Chairs and Professorships
By Megan McCall, Photography by Jack Kearse
Madhav Dhodapkar (left), director of Winship's Center for Cancer Immunology, received the Anise McDaniel Brock Chair. John Brock (right) was one of the Brock family members attending the ceremony.
Edmund K. Waller (left), director of Winship's Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program, with Rein Saral, Winship Professor Emeritus, receives the Rein Saral, MD Professorship in Cancer Medicine.
Winship Executive Director Walter J. Curran, Jr., with Sagar Lonial (right), Winship chief medical officer. Lonial received the Anne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in Cancer.
Jing Chen (right), director of the Division of Basic and Translational Science, is honored by R. Randall Rollins with the R. Randall Rollins Chair in Oncology.
Within the first two months of 2019, four endowed chairs and professorships were bestowed on Winship physician-scientists and researchers.
Winship Senior Director of Research Administration Kim Kerstann says they are the best tools for retaining and recruiting competitive faculty and lead to stronger collaborations, a better understanding of cancer, and better treatment options for patients.
Endowed chairs and professorships give faculty the ability to purchase more lab resources and free up time for more research. These extras become invaluable as faculty take on more research projects, mentor more students, and publish more research papers.
The endowments, usually $2 million for endowed chairs and $1 million for endowed professorships, are typically targeted to a research program or disease focus. The chair or professorship recipient receives an annual allocation of funds and a prestigious academic title. These perks reward high achieving faculty with critical salary and research support that expands opportunities for scientific exploration and draws students looking to work in the best labs and collaborate on cutting-edge research.
"Recipients of endowed chairs and professorships are esteemed faculty members who are recognized for their expertise in key areas of teaching, research, or service," says Kerstann. "Chosen faculty have an established track record for scholarship and a national or international presence."
Honoring faculty with endowed appointments supports a competitive academic environment and encourages scientific discoveries that change the face of cancer treatment.
