PPM 230-191.A Scope and Policy

 

1.                   This policy guides the establishment and administration of all endowed chairs and professorships, including distinguished professorships, which are typically established by a gift or allocation. For convenience, all will collectively be referred to as “endowed chairs.” Chair funds are held by either The Regents or the UC San Diego Foundation depending on the terms.

 

2.                   Endowed chairs are awarded to honor extraordinary academic achievement and to recruit and retain the most distinguished scholars. An endowed chair is a perquisite that is supported by payouts from the endowment fund and is made available to a distinguished faculty member in support of their teaching, research, and service activities. An endowed chair may be assigned to a department, division, or school.

 

PPM 230-191.B Establishment of an Endowed Chair

 

PPM 230-191.B.1 Funding of the Endowed Chair

 

a.       All contacts and discussions with prospective donors shall be coordinated with UC San Diego Advancement.

 

b.       The minimum amount of a gift or gifts required to establish an endowed chair shall not be less than $1,000,000 (amounts in certain academic areas are higher, see PPM 410-30).

 

c.       A pledge to establish an endowed chair shall be in such a form as to constitute a legally binding commitment by the donor. For Endowed chairs held by the UC San Diego Foundation, endowment payout is transferred to The Regents in accordance with Administrative Guidelines for Campus Foundations.

 

d.       Establishment of an endowed chair shall be conditional upon full funding by a specified closing date. The gift agreement shall include a proposed payment schedule specified at the time of Chancellor approval, unless there is a legally binding, irrevocable commitment to complete the funding by bequest or similar deferred gift for which there can be no predetermined termination date. A request to approve the establishment of an endowed chair shall not be made prior to receipt of at least one-fourth of the total sum required to fund the chair endowment.

 

e.       A proposal to fund all or any portion of a chair endowment through a deferred gift or future bequest will be based on established UC San Diego Advancement policies and protocols, which may include review by the Campus Chief Financial Officer and Chief Campus Counsel. Before a commitment is made to a prospective donor to establish and name an endowed chair, the deferred gift or bequest must have an estimated remainder equal to or in excess of the minimum dollar amount required to fund the chair.

 

f.         Whenever full funding of the endowment is dependent upon receipt of future pledge payments or upon realization of a deferred gift or bequest, the donor should be encouraged to include in the governing gift instrument (a) a provision permitting alternative University uses of the payout during the period in which pledge payments are being made (b) a provision permitting reallocation to alternative University uses if the minimum funding level is not achieved, and (c) a provision for a donor intending to make a bequest to provide annual payout replacement during the donor’s lifetime.

 

g.       The gift instrument shall permit the Chancellor of UC San Diego to re-designate the endowed chair and the use of the annual payout to an alternative area of the campus if the subject area of the endowed chair becomes inconsistent with the University's mission or the academic plan of the campus. Such alternative uses shall be as closely related to the donor's original intent as feasible.

 

PPM 230-191.B.2 Chair Definitions

 

            The two types of endowed chairs at UC San Diego are:

 

a.       Term Endowed Chair. A chair with a set appointment term (e.g., five years) may be used to honor a distinguished UC San Diego faculty member or to attract a distinguished scholar and teacher to the UC San Diego faculty. Appointment to a term endowed chair will be for the number of years proposed and approved at the time of appointment and/or reappointment. Term endowed chair holders may be eligible for additional terms. In general, a reappointment to a term endowed chair is considered a new appointment.[1]

 

Academic appointees eligible for a Term Endowed Chair are:

 

·       All Senate Faculty

·       HS Clinical Faculty

·       Adjunct Faculty[2] (excluding Professor of Practice)

 

b.       Administrative Chair. An administrative chair is intended to enhance the attractiveness and academic prestige of an academic administrative position for a distinguished scholar and teacher. Appointment to such an endowed chair is limited to a senior faculty member who is or will be a Dean, Department Chair, director, or holder of an equivalent administrative position and is for the period of the appointee’s tenure in the associated administrative position.

 

PPM 230-191.C Chair Proposal Criteria

 

1.                   The Chancellor retains authority for establishing and naming endowed chairs and professorships contingent upon funding of the endowment for the chair.

 

2.                   No final commitment to establish and name a chair shall be made to a prospective donor prior to Chancellor approval. Any purported commitment to establish an endowed chair prior to receiving Chancellor approval shall be null and void.

 

3.                   A chair may be named in honor of the donor or an honoree proposed by the donor, subject to approval by the Chancellor.

 

4.                   Deans and Department Chairs should work together with the donor, the appropriate Vice Chancellor and UC San Diego Advancement to ensure that the proposed endowed chair has the appropriate criteria to allow for breadth and flexibility. The chair definition should be broad enough to allow new research directions and to ensure as broad a candidate pool as possible. Completed proposals are reviewed for campus approval as detailed below in section PPM 230-191.C.1

 

PPM 230-191.C.1 Proposal for Creation of an Endowed Chair

 

A proposal to establish an endowed chair will be provided by the Dean or Vice Chancellor of the benefiting unit, and should address the following:

 

a.       How is the proposed endowed chair consistent with the mission of the University and campus academic plan?

 

•        If the proposed endowed chair requires that the holder be appointed in a specific area, describe how such a requirement is consistent with the priorities of the department, school, or university.

 

b.       Whether the proposed endowed chair requires the campus to commit a new FTE in an  area consistent with the needs of the campus.  If required, discuss how such a commitment is consistent with the needs of the proposed unit and whether the FTE will be budgeted and funded for the duration of the endowed chair appointment without regard to the chair’s annual payout.

 

c.       Ensure the proposed endowed chair criteria do not make demands that are inappropriate or difficult to adhere to (e.g., too narrow a research focus)

 

A proposal for the establishment of a new endowed chair shall be reviewed and endorsed by the following, in the order specified:

 

a.       Department Chair (if applicable)

 

b.       Dean

 

c.       Appropriate Vice Chancellor

 

d.       Applicable UC San Diego Committee

 

•        General Campus and Scripps Institution of Oceanography:

 

•        UC San Diego Divisional Senate’s Educational Policy Committee

 

•        Health Sciences:

 

•        Health Sciences Faculty Council

 

e.       Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs

 

f.         Chancellor

 

See detailed procedures at: Endowed Chairs on Blink.

 

PPM 230-191.C.2 Appointment and Reappointment to a Term Endowed Chair

 

Approval[3] of the establishment of the endowed chair is required prior to an appointment being made.

 

·       Candidates nominated to fill endowed chairs must hold a full-time faculty appointment.

 

·       The Chancellor has the authority to grant exceptions to the appointment of endowed chairs.

 

a.       Department-based Endowed Chairs

 

If the endowed chair is assigned to a department, the Department Chair will engage in a consultative process to identify candidate(s) for the endowed chair.

 

The Department Chair shall then choose a committee consisting of five members (three from the department and two from outside of the department) to review the qualifications of the candidate(s). The selected candidate’s scholarly record must be highly distinguished and meritorious and in harmony with the stated terms, goals and purpose of the endowed chair.

 

b.       Non-Department-based Endowed Chair

 

If the endowed chair is not assigned to a specific department, the Dean and/or applicable Vice Chancellor will engage in a consultative process to identify candidate(s) for the endowed chair. The Dean and/or applicable Vice Chancellor shall then choose a committee consisting of five members to review the qualifications of the candidate(s). The selected candidate’s scholarly record must be highly distinguished and meritorious and in harmony with the stated terms, goals, and purpose of the endowed chair.

 

If a candidate is not currently a UC San Diego appointee, appointment to an endowed chair shall be made in accordance with established University and campus procedures for faculty appointments (see PPM 230-220). After a thorough search for a candidate, an academic appointment file will be submitted for academic and administrative review. The file will address the appointment to the endowed chair as well as the candidate’s qualifications for academic appointment. Campus reviewers will comment separately on the academic appointment and on the suitability of the candidate to occupy the endowed chair.

 

PPM 230-191.C.3 Term Endowed Chair Appointment Review and Endorsement

 

An endowed chair appointment nomination proposal shall be reviewed and endorsed by the following, in the order specified:

 

·       Review committee

 

·       Department Chair (if applicable)

 

·       Dean

 

·       Appropriate Vice Chancellor

 

·       Senate Committee on Academic Personnel (CAP)

 

·       Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs

 

·       Chancellor

 

See detailed procedure at: Endowed Chairs on Blink.

 

PPM 230-191.C.4 Reappointment to a Term Endowed Chair

 

In general, reappointment to an endowed chair must be reviewed by a departmental review committee.

 

Deans may request an exception to the review committee requirement in cases where a chair holder’s record of accomplishment continues to be highly distinguished, meritorious, and in harmony with an endowed chair’s terms, goals, and purpose. Requests to forgo review by a committee should articulate why a chair holder’s reappointment is in the best interest of the department, school, and/or University.

 

Reappointment to a Term Endowed Chair must follow and adhere to the same review and endorsement requirements as Term Endowed Chair appointments, see previous section PPM 230-191.C.2.

 

PPM 230-191.C.4 Appointment to an Administrative Chair

 

a.       Approval[4] of the establishment of the endowed chair is required prior to an appointment being made.

 

·       A candidate nominated to fill an endowed chair must hold a full- time faculty appointment.

 

·       Once the candidate has been approved to hold the administrative appointment with which an endowed chair is associated, the appropriate Vice Chancellor will designate the candidate for the administrative position as the nominee for the endowed chair and will forward the nomination to the Chancellor via the Academic Personnel Office for appointment.

 

PPM 230-191.D Use of Endowed Chair Payout

 

Guidelines for the allocation of endowed chair payouts are provided in the Appendices of this policy.

 

1.    Endowment payout made available to holders of endowed chairs shall be used to support the teaching, research, and service activities of the chairholder, in accordance with the gift or allocation terms and University regulations, and according to a budget recommended annually by the chairholder to the Department Chair and approved by the appropriate Vice Chancellor, except as noted in Section D.2 below. The use of endowment payout to support the base salary of the chairholder must be made in accordance with University policy and campus procedures.

 

2.    Endowment payout made available to the holder of an administrative chair may be used to support the teaching, research, and service activities of the department, research unit, or school in accordance with the gift or allocation terms and University regulations. The administrative chairholder shall determine such use of the payout, according to a budget approved annually by the appropriate Dean (unless the chairholder is a Dean) or the Executive Vice Chancellor– Academic Affairs.

 

3.    The terms of the endowment shall be reviewed from time to time to ensure that the University is continuing to fulfill its legal obligations to use the endowed chair payout in a manner consistent with the donor's expressed intent.

 

4.    If an established, fully funded chair has remained vacant for a period of two (2) consecutive years or more, or if a field chair's accumulated payout exceeds two (2) years, the campus shall review the fund's terms and administrative history to ascertain the reason for the accumulation and take appropriate corrective action consistent with the terms of the gift instrument or consistent with the terms of the administrative allocation.

 

5.     A review of the terms and uses of an endowment payout will be performed annually by UC San Diego Advancement Services and recommended actions will be made to ensure the University is fulfilling its legal obligation to utilize the chair payout fully in a manner consistent with the gift instrument. As a guide, an accumulated chair payout should not exceed two (2) years of the endowed chair's current annual payout.

 

PPM 230-191.E Addition of Income to Principal

 

1.    Standard language in all gift agreements and campus allocations will be included to permit the addition of chair payouts to principals when not needed for the specified use. The Chancellor or the Chancellor's designee is authorized to approve the addition of unexpended chair payouts to the endowed chair fund principal.

 

2.    Gift agreements will also provide for redirecting the endowment to alternative University uses if the minimum funding level is not ultimately realized or if the subject area ceases to be consistent with the University’s mission or the campus’ academic plan.

 

PPM 230-191.F Disestablishment of an Endowed Chair

 

1.    Subject to any gift agreement provisions that provide for the resignation of an endowed chair’s area and/or alternative uses, the Chancellor, upon recommendation by the Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs and following consultation with Chief Campus Counsel, is authorized to disestablish an endowed chair in the event that:

 

a.    A donor has made request for disestablishment

 

b.    The subject area ceases to be consistent with the University's mission or the academic plan of the campus; or

 

c.    The endowed chair remains vacant for a period of three (3) consecutive years and the Chancellor, after consultation with the appropriate Vice Chancellor, appropriate Dean, and the Department Chair, determines there is no likelihood of filling the chair.

 

2.    Upon disestablishment of an endowed chair, the endowment and any accumulated payout shall be reallocated to an alternative purpose if stated in the gift instrument or as subsequently specified by the donor in consultation with the Chancellor, or as determined by the Chancellor and permitted by the gift agreement, in consultation with the Chief Campus Counsel. If a donor is deceased and has not specified an alternative purpose, the campus shall request the assistance of Chief Campus Counsel for a review and in obtaining any necessary court approvals for an alternative use of the endowment payout in a related field.

 

PPM 230-191.G Reporting

 

1.    The chairholder and unit business offices will be informed annually by UC San Diego Advancement Services of the projected payout available for the chairholder’s use for the following year.

 

2.    Each chairholder shall submit a brief annual narrative of the past year's activities, a report on the use of the endowment payout that supported them, and a budget request for the upcoming year to the Department Chair for transmittal to the appropriate Vice Chancellor for approval. The narratives are to be retained by the chairholder, Department Chair, applicable Vice Chancellor, and UC San Diego Advancement Services for use in preparing annual reports on endowed chairs to donors or others.

 

Submitted annual narratives will be retained at the department and/or school for a minimum three (3) year retention period. UC San Diego Advancement Services will maintain a copy of all narrative reports for historical purposes.

 

REVISION HISTORY

 

February 12, 1982               This policy was originally issued.

 

July 16, 1984                      This policy was revised and reissued.

 

November 1, 2003               This policy was made effective.

 

April 23, 2018                      Minor technical edits to update names and policy hyperlinks.

 

April 2, 2020                        Technical edits to remove gendered language.

 

January 28, 2025                This policy was revised and reissued.

 

 

Appendix I: UC San Diego Guidelines for Endowed Chair

 

These guidelines apply to all endowed chairs and chair appointments established after January 1, 2015. Departments are responsible for ensuring appropriate practices related to these commitments and should expect to report annually to their Dean and the Office of Donor and Fund Stewardship on activities related to these chairs.

 

Endowed Chairs

 

A.      Gift or Allocation Minimums

 

General Campus	$1,000,000
Health Sciences	$2,000,000
Marin Sciences	$2,000,000

B.      Term

 

·       See PPM 230-191.B.2, Chair Definitions

 

C.      Annual Payout (N)

 

·       Chair Holder Allowance            $25,000

The first $25,000 of annual payout from the fund will provide a scholarly allowance  to be available for expenditure on UC San Diego related uses at the discretion of chair holder [e.g., GCCP or HSCP/Y component, grad or post-doc support, research support, scholarly travel]

 

·       Balance of Payout                     (N - $25,000)

Any remainder of payout after deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance is to be allocated for use as determined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor for some combination of academic year salary support for the chair holder and support for graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

Administrative Chairs

 

A.            Gift and Allocation Minimums

 

Dean/Chairs	$3,000,000
Vice Chancellors	$5,000,000

 

B.            Annual Payout (N):

 

·       Chair Holder Allowance                        $25,000

The first $25,000 may be used at the discretion of the chair holder

 

·       Remainder of Payout                            (N - $25,000)

 

Available towards the salary of chairholder.

 

Managing Endowed Chair Payout

 

Appointments made to endowed chairs prior to January 1, 2015, have a grandfather provision for existing chair holders.  In those cases, all payout will be used for the scholarly activities of the chair holder.

 

·       Legacy endowed chairs will transition to the new payout rules when the chair holder changes if consonant with the chair establishment documents.

 

·       Existing legacy chair holders may transition to the new rules voluntarily at the time of their next schedule endowed chair review/reappointment.

 

Commitments to retiring or separating chair holders regarding access to fund balances for a transitionary period require prior approval by the Executive Vice Chancellor-Academic Affairs.

 

·       A formal request that includes appropriate justification, amounts, timelines, and impact to filling the chair will be needed.

 

Decisions to move unspent balances back to principal require the Chancellor’s approval.

 

·       A request that includes appropriate justification will be needed.

 

Access to unspent balances on vacant chairs requires approval from the Executive Vice Chancellor- Academic Affairs and will need to be permitted in the existing donor agreement or additional donor permission will need to be sought.

 

·       A request that includes appropriate justification and the impact to filling the chair will be needed.

 

Payout balances are to be expended annually. Payout accumulations should not exceed two (2) years.

 

UC San Diego Advancement Services will request an annual report from chair holders on their use of endowed chair payout balances.

 

REVISION HISTORY

 

April 2, 2020                    Technical edits to remove gendered language.

January 28, 2025            Revised and replaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I

                                                                      

Appendix II:  2015 Chancellor’s Endowed Chair Challenge

 

In 2015, UC San Diego established the Chancellor’s Endowed Chair Challenge as part of the Campaign for UC San Diego to expand the number of endowed chairs and fellowships available to support the recruitment and retention of quality faculty at both senior and junior levels. Established chairs included a special naming convention for both the donor and match similar to “XXX (donor name) Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in the School of XXX.” This challenge was completed, but may be used at the Chancellor’s discretion. This program provides Chancellor match endowment principal funding of $500,000 as an FFE in the Regents to augment the minimum donor gift.

 

A.      Minimum Donor Gift Funding Requirements

 

General Campus	$1,000,000
Health Sciences	$2,000,000
Marin Sciences	$2,000,000

 

B.      Annual Payout (N)

 

·       Chair Holder Allowance                             $25,000

 

The first $25,000 payout from the donor fund will provide a scholarly allowance to be available for expenditure for UC San Diego related uses at the discretion of chair holder [e.g., GCCP or HSCP/Y component, grad or post- doc support, research support, scholarly travel]

 

·       Balance of Payout                                     (N-$25,000)

 

As determined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor, any remaining payout after deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance is to be used for some combination of academic year salary support for the chair holder and support for graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

·       Matching Chancellor’s Fund (Regents FFE)

 

Payout from the matching endowment must be used towards payment of any academic year salary of the chair holder (NOT summer salary, General Campus Compensation Plan (GCCP), or the Y component of Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP)).

 

***Departments are responsible for ensuring appropriate practices related to these commitments and should expect to report annually to the Dean and Office of Donor Stewardship on activities related to these chairs.

 

REVISION HISTORY

 

April 2, 2020                    Technical edits to remove gendered language.

 

January 28, 2025            Revised and replaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I.

 

 

Appendix III: 2014 Presidential Match Endowed Chair Program

 

The Office of the President established the Presidential Match for Endowed Chairs in 2014 as an incentive to encourage donors to establish endowed faculty chairs. It was funded through the Presidential Endowment Fund and provides campuses with a $500,000 Presidential Match once campuses raised at least $500,000 per chair in donor funds.

 

This program required the creation of two funds:

 

·       Minimum Donor Fund (provided by the donor)                 $500,000

·       Matching Regents Fund (provided by the President)        $500,000

 

A.      Annual Payout (N):

 

·       Donor Fund - As determined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor, this is used for some combination of academic year salary support for the chair holder and support for graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

·       Matching Regents Fund (FFE)

 

§  Chair Holder Allowance           $25,000

 

Scholarly allowance at discretion of chair holder [e.g., GCCP or Y component, grad or post- doc support, research support, scholarly travel]

 

§  Balance of Payout                    (N-$25,000)

 

Remainder after deduction of the Chair Holder Allowance. As determined by the appropriate academic Vice Chancellor, this is used for some combination of academic year salary support for the chair holder and support for graduate students in the research area of the chair holder.

 

REVISION HISTORY

 

April 2, 2020                   Technical edits to remove gendered language.

January 28, 2025            Revised and replaces 01/01/2018 Attachment I