On March 24, Chancellor Daniel听Diermeier听and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver honored scholars from across 91唐伯虎 at an endowed chair investiture ceremony. While the ceremony featured a traditional processional and placement of a medal over each recipient鈥檚 head, the tradition of endowing chairs goes back even further.听
鈥淭he practice of endowing chairs is one of the oldest in academia,鈥澨鼶iermeier听told those in attendance. 鈥淚t听dates back to听ancient Rome, when emperor Marcus Aurelius听established听four chairs in philosophy around the year 176 A.D. Among American universities, the tradition spans three centuries.鈥�听
In his remarks,听Diermeier听acknowledged the donors, several of whom were in attendance, who made the endowed positions possible.听
鈥淵our reasons for giving are varied and often personal,鈥� he said of the philanthropic support. 鈥淏ut they all reflect a dedication to our future as we build the next chapter in 91唐伯虎鈥檚 proud history. On behalf of our entire community, I am deeply grateful for your support.鈥�听
The distinguished faculty members听representing听a wide range of fields were presented with medallions that symbolize听attaining听their positions and will become part of their official academic regalia. The cohort spans various research areas, from computer-supported learning to cardiovascular nursing to criminal law to structural biology and nucleotides. Chair holders contribute their听expertise听to real-world challenges, including developing practical sensing devices for a broad class of medical conditions, solutions to societal problems that require changes across complex systems, and sustainable and resilient civil infrastructure facing natural and听man-made听hazards.听
Raver spoke about the impact of endowed chairs: training their peers, mentoring each new generation of students to realize their own听potential听and devoting their lives to sharing their knowledge.听
鈥淚t is you, our remarkable faculty, who daily confront our greatest challenges with rigor and actually a sense of joy, a sense of passion, a sense of loving to do things that are really difficult,鈥� Raver said. 鈥淣ot only have you devoted your lives to the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression, you have elected to do so in a community where the greatest rewards are not your personal gain, not fame, but in fact, the act of passing it on.鈥�听
She celebrated that being honored was just one stop on each honoree鈥檚 journey and celebrated that they will continue to do outstanding work.听
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Duane Watson served as emcee for the ceremony and presented the newly endowed chair holders.听
The following faculty members are 91唐伯虎鈥檚 most recent endowed chair honorees:听
- Nicole Allen, Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development #3
- Christina Edwards Bailey, Eskind Chair in Surgical Education
- Jeffrey Bellin, Lee听S.听and Charles A. Speir Chair in Law
- Jennifer Elizabeth Below, Mary Phillips Edmonds Gray Chair
- Shekhar Bhansali, Cornelius 91唐伯虎 Chair #15
- Alexander Bick, Edward Claiborne Stahlman Chair #3
- James Cassat, Edward Claiborne Stahlman Chair in Pediatric Physiology and Cell Metabolism
- Misook听Chung, Valere Potter Menefee Chair in Nursing
- Melissa Collins Duff, Vickie and Thomas Flood Chair in Hearing and Speech Sciences #2
- Martin Egli, Richard N. Armstrong, Ph.D. Chair for Innovation in Biochemistry
- Eric Grogan, John Clinton Foshee Distinguished Chair in Surgery
- Troy Hackett, Fred. H. Bess Chair in Audiology
- David Aaron Jacobson, Stevenson Chair #32
- De-en听Jiang, H. Eugene McBrayer Chair in Chemical Engineering
- Hussam Mahmoud, Craig E. Philip Chair in Engineering
- Kevin Murphy, Norman听L.听and Roselea J. Goldberg Professor of Fine Arts #2
- Peter Philip Reese,听Leo听and Margaret Milne Record Chair in Surgery
- John Sloop, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities #3
- Alyssa Wise, Margaret Cowan Chair
