Referring to Endowed Faculty Positions

This page is part of our Editorial Style Guide.

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Overview

The official name of the endowed position is always derived from the donor’s gift agreement, which states the name of the fund.

The position

The endowed position is referred to as follows. (Use “in” unless specified otherwise in the gift agreement.) Examples:

  • (the) John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Chemistry
  • (the) John and Mary Smith Dean's Professorship in [Placeholder]
  • (the) John and Mary Smith Endowed Professorship in [Placeholder]
  • (the) Thomas William and Frederick John MacWilliam Distinguished Professorship

Example of the position when the name of the recipient is in the sentence:

  • Mary Miller, PhD, received the John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professorship in [Placeholder].

Example of the position when name of recipient is not in the sentence:

  • The John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professorship in [Placeholder] is the ninth endowed faculty position in the department.

The recipient

The Development Office refers to the faculty member named to the endowed position as the recipient, not the holder.

The recipient of the endowed position is referred to as follows (use ‘of’). Examples:

  • John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professor of [Placeholder]
  • John and Mary Smith Dean's Professor of [Placeholder]

Upon first citation refer to the faculty member as the recipient of the position. Use your judgment thereafter when referring to the recipient. Again, do not state that the recipient holds the position. Examples:

  • The position: Mary Miller, PhD, is the first recipient of the John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professorship in [Placeholder].
  • The recipient: Mary Miller, PhD, John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professor of [Placeholder]; School of Pharmacy professor; and faculty affiliate of the Quantitative Biosciences Institute, presented at today’s seminar.

People are not endowed. Thus, if the word “endowed” is in the official name of the fund, do not include the word “endowed” when referring to the recipient of the fund.

  • John and Mary Smith Endowed Professorship in [Placeholder] (here we leave Endowed because the word is part of the official name of the position)
  • John and Mary Smith Professor of [Placeholder] (here we remove Endowed because the word refers to the recipient)

In a signature block, the recipient of the endowed position is presented as:

Mary Miller, PhD

Professor and Chair [or other academic title]

John and Mary Smith Distinguished Professor of [Placeholder]

Endowed chairs

Although endowed chairs are now called endowed professorships, the formal, original names of many older endowments still include the word chair.

Example: Lisa Kroon, PharmD, is the recipient of the Thomas A. Oliver Chair in Clinical Pharmacy.

For the dean

  • Kathleen M. Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm, is the recipient of the Troy C. Daniels Distinguished Professorship in Pharmaceutical Sciences (here we refer to the professorship, the position)
  • Kathleen M. Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm, is the Troy C. Daniels Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences (here we refer to the recipient of the professorship)

And formal signature block:

Kathleen M. Giacomini, PhD, BSPharm

Dean

Troy C. Daniels Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Associate Vice Chancellor, Pharmacy Affairs

UCSF School of Pharmacy

Related links

Next topic: The University, the School, and Other Entities