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Academic Personnel

Endowed appointments

Endowed appointments, provided through generous donor funding, provide recognition and support to exemplary faculty members, and can play an important role in recruitment and retention. Information on this page pertains to a specific set of endowed appointments that includes endowed faculty fellowships, endowed professorships, and endowed chairs (please note that a “chair” is a recognition title and does not require an administrative appointment). At times, the University may also have non-endowed/term versions of these types of faculty funds to be awarded for a limited number of years; the appointment process detailed below would be the same for these funds which include term professorships, term chairs, and term deanships.

Note: Named deanships and other endowments administered by the Office of the Provost are not addressed on this page and should not be entered into Workday by academic units. When applicable, Academic HR (AHR) will contact units with information about when and how to process these appointments.

Endowed appointments are at-will secondary appointments and subject to the discretion of the dean or chancellor, or provost for centrally administered funds. Professorships, Chairs and Deanships require Board of Regents approval; endowed faculty fellowships only require provost approval.

Endowed appointments can be set for an indefinite period– subject to review at least every 5 years and remaining at-will– or for a specified limited period which is that standard for all term versions of these funds. Faculty members will hold only one endowed appointment at any given time.

Endowment Appointment Process

Unit administrators enter endowed appointments into Workday via the Add Academic Appointment Track process. In Workday endowed and term appointments are referred to as “named professorships” which cover all the various fund types.

When entering the appointment, leave the Named Professorship field blank, assign a Dual identifier, and include the complete name of the endowment/term gift–generally found in the agreement–in the comment section.

Academic HR will fill in the Named Professorship field when reviewing the request.

New Appointment Required Documents 
Administrators upload the following documents to Workday as a single PDF:

  • Letter from the director/chair requesting the appointment
  • Candidate’s CV
  • Endowment agreement (contact your dean’s/chancellor’s office for more information)
  • Any other supporting documentation

Completion of the business process in Workday by Academic HR confirms provost approval of faculty fellowships. AHR will notify candidates in writing of Board of Regents approval for endowed professorships, chairs, deanships, and term versions of these appointments.

Note that endowed appointments cannot be announced until formally approved by the provost or Board of Regents as outlined above.

Reappointment Required Documents
Reappointment request letter from director/chair/campus dean, or dean of an undepartmentalized unit.

Confirming appointments
Academic HR will reach out in advance of an upcoming Board of Regents meeting to confirm the appointments that will be submitted for approval in the next meeting. EDS is confirming that it fits within the parameters of the agreement and there is sufficient funding. This requires the EDS team to review the list and confirm information, including:

  • Review market value and look at expendable account (if needed) to determine if funding is sufficient for the holder(s)
  • Seattle Children’s: ensure each appointment is going to only one holder, unless it is a fund with a substantial MV (recipients tab in Tandem has all the names for “Seattle Children’s Chairs” fund) . Our role is to confirm we know it exists by looking at tab in Tandem.
  • Fred Hutch: should every endowed chair they have go to someone with a UW faculty appointment?
  • Adding recipients to Tandem once details are confirmed. (Note: should be able to happen as part of Workday integration in the future).
  • Clinical professors—handled by a case-by-base basis. Visible in Workday if they are a clinical professor.
  • Exceptions—Guideline document linked on Academic HR website states policies for holders. Advancement and Provost’s Office (via the Vice Provost) approve. Written memo from the administrator/Dean or documentation required. Holding more than one endowed title, clinical professorships. Memos to be written by unit, with light editing (if needed) by EDS.

Administering Funds

Chancellors and deans are responsible for administering and monitoring endowment expenditures in accordance with University policies and procedures and in compliance with the endowment/gift agreement.

Guidelines

The official Guidelines for the terms and use of operating income for gift-funded faculty appointments was updated in 2024. Please review the guidelines before completing the workday process.

Additional Resources