Faculty Support
Each day, the work of NC State’s faculty impacts the world around us — helping us understand implications of artificial intelligence, supply chain operations, best practices in food safety, new ways to help K-12 students learn, better methods for fighting wildfires and more.
Chairs and Professorships at NC State
Over the last decade, the number of endowed faculty positions at NC State has grown to more than 230 — a significant point of pride made possible by donors. However, we still lag behind our peer institutions.
Such positions are among the highest honors a faculty member can aspire to. Growing our distinguished professorships and other endowed faculty positions makes us more competitive when it comes to recruiting outstanding talent to NC State and retaining those who have launched their careers here.
When fully endowed, professorships produce a revenue stream, providing flexible funds that allow faculty members to pursue ideas that might be difficult to fund otherwise, hire students into research positions, support their travel and fieldwork, and raise visibility of the university through conferences and public engagement. Your gift fuels discovery — and shapes our future.
Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund
Since 1985, the North Carolina General Assembly has offered a generous gift-matching program to donors who endow a distinguished professorship or chair through the Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund. This match has accelerated donor — and faculty — impact.
As of November 2023, under a new UNC System policy, the fund will provide matches only to new distinguished professorships established in STEM disciplines.
Donors may still create professorships to support faculty members in non-STEM fields. These funds will not be entered into the queue for state matching funds, but they are critical to advancing our academic mission and educating students who are well-rounded in a variety of disciplines.
Opportunities for Your Support
- Endowed Deanship: Starting amounts are market-driven and elevate the dean position by providing resources to pursue priorities related to research, teaching and programmatic needs that may not be covered through other revenue sources.
- Endowed Department Head: Starting amounts are market-driven and strengthen academic reputation by providing consistent resources to department heads.
- Endowed Chair: Starting at $2.5 million, these positions attract the most renowned and seasoned faculty members.
- Endowed Distinguished Professorship or Scholar*: Starting at $1 million, these positions help recruit and retain outstanding faculty members and support their work.
- Endowed Faculty Award: Starting at $100,000, these awards recognize excellence in research and teaching and provide a vehicle for honoring faculty members at different career stages.
*Scholar is the title given to faculty members who have not achieved the rank of full professor. Awarding endowed positions at the assistant or associate professor level is a powerful retention tool.
Stories of Faculty Impact
