Endow a Professorship or Chair

Louisiana has a unique opportunity to impact higher education through the endowed professorships and eminent scholar chairs matching program of the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Endowed professorships and chairs at LSUS promote faculty excellence in research and teaching, and provide permanent funding in support of these scholarly efforts.

These endowments enable LSUS to recruit and retain world-class faculty and assure that the university and the community benefit by providing cutting edge learning.

Understanding Professorships & Chairs
Chairs, such as The American Studies Endowed Chair at LSUS, help provide programs that enhance the educational experience for many students. Dr. William Pederson heads the American Studies Program and says, “More than 500 students have participated in the LSUS ‘Washington Semester’ over the past 22 years. It gives our students a competitive professional and career edge.”

From the very first, Washington Semester students have set a standard for success. Bradley S. Kemp, who participated in the first Washington Semester in 1983, is now the FedEx manager for European Operations. Darrell Landreaux is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force. Reed Dickens has served as Assistant Press Secretary to President George W. Bush and currently serves as Communications Director for California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger’s Reform Package Committee. Royal Alexander graduated from law school and serves as the chief of staff to Congressman Rodney Alexander (no relation). These are some of the routes to success students have taken. Many of them credit the Washington Semester as the most memorable event of their undergraduate years.

The AEP SWEPCO LaPREP Professorship is instrumental in continuing the LaPREP Program at LSUS. Dr. Carlos Spaht, head of the program, recalls “In the fall of 1989, I was told a story about an African American male, the best student in his 7th grade accelerated class, who had dropped out of school, joined a gang and was hooked on drugs. LaPREP began in 1992 and has been very successful. None of its participants has dropped out of high school and all who have been eligible have enrolled in college. Moreover, approximately 90 percent of those in college have majored in math or science.”

The Regents provide matching funds to endow chairs at $1 and $2 million levels and professorships at $100,000 and $200,000 with a 60/40 ratio.

Donors who create professorships and chairs with a 60 percent donation can name and designate the use of the endowment. Many donors use this opportunity to honor family members or others who have been influential in their lives.
Professorships or chairs can be funded by donors over a five-year period. Endowments which are originally established as professorships can be upgraded to super professorships or eminent scholar chairs.

All endowments are professionally managed within the LSUS Foundation and only a portion of the earnings are distributed for academic support. Also, a portion of the annual earnings are reinvested to increase the principle in the endowment.

LSUS students are the ultimate beneficiaries of these visionary donations because they are provided access to faculty members who are leaders in their fields.

LSUS Chairs & Professorships

• AEP SWEPCO LaPREP Professorship in the College of Sciences
  Established in 2001 by Southwestern Electric Power Company. Dr. Carlos Spaht II, professor of mathematics and director of the LaPREP program, currently holds this professorship.
• American Studies Chair
  Established in 1994 by Norman and Peggy Kinsey. Dr. William D. Pederson, professor of political science and director of the International Lincoln Center for American Studies, currently holds this chair.
• Bank One Jerry Boughton Professorship in the College of Business Administration
  Established in 2004 by Bank One. Dr. Chengho Hsieh, professor of finance, currently holds this professorship.
• BellSouth Corporation Professorship in Business Administration
  Established in 2004 by the BellSouth Corporation. Dr. Binshan Lin, professor of management, currently holds this professorship.
• Dalton J. Woods Family Endowed Professorship in the College of Education And Human Development
  Established in 2005 by the family of Dalton J. Woods. Dr. Keitha Rogers, assistant professor of education, currently holds this professorship.
• Don and Earlene Coleman Red River Watershed Management Institute Professorship in the College of Sciences
  Established in 2003 by Don and Earlene Coleman. Gary M. Hanson, assistant professor of environmental science and director of the LSUS Red River Watershed Management Institute, currently holds this professorship.
• Dr. Richard K. Speairs Professorship in Field Biology in the College of Sciences
  Established in 2002 by Dr. Richard K. and Betty Speairs. Dr. Beverly Burden, associate professor of biology, currently holds this professorship.
• Elmer and Barbara Simon Professorship for Excellence in Teaching (a university wide professorship)
  Established in 2000 by B. Bruce and Steven Simon. Dr. Megan Conway, professor of French, currently holds this professorship.
• George A. Khoury Jr. Professorship in American Humanics, College of Liberal Arts
  Established in 2002 by George A. Khoury Jr. Dr. Norman A. Dolch, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Human Services and Public Policy, currently holds this professorship.
• George and Regina Khoury Professorship in the College of Sciences
  Established in 2002 by George Khoury. Dr. Deborah K. Shepherd, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics, currently holds this professorship.
• India Studies Professorship, College of Liberal Arts
  Established in 1995 by the India Association of Shreveport. Dr. Sanjay T. Menon, assistant professor of management, currently holds this professorship.
• James K. Elrod Super Professorship in Health Administration
  Originally established as a professorship in 2000 by the Willis-Knighton Health System Board of Trustees and upgraded to a super professorship in 2006. Dr. John L. Fortenberry Jr., associate professor of health administration, currently holds this professorship.
• Joe and Abby Averett Professorship in Business
  Established in 2004 by Joe and Abby Averett. Dr. Lisa A. Burke, associate professor of management, currently holds this professorship.
• Kilpatrick Life Insurance Company Endowed Chair for Insurance and Financial Services
  Established in 2005 by Virginia K. Shehee. Dr. Harvey W. Rubin, professor of finance and director of the Louisiana Consortium for Insurance and Financial Services, currently holds this chair.
• LSUS Alumni Association Vincent J. Marsala Endowed Professorship in Teaching Excellence
  Established in 2005 by the LSUS Alumni Association. This professorship is currently unfilled.
• Mary Anne and Leonard Selber Endowed Professorship for History and Social Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts
  Established in 2006 by friends and members of the Selber family. This professorship is currently unfilled.
• Oscar Cloyd Real Estate Super Professorship in the College of Business Administration
  Established in 1999 by the Shreveport-Bossier Board of Realtors. Dr. Douglas S. Bible, professor of finance and chair of the LSUS Department of Economics and Finance, currently holds this professorship.
• Ruth H. Noel Chair for the Curatorship of the James Smith Noel Collection
  Established in 2003 by Ruth Herring Noel. Dr. Robert C. Leitz III, professor of English, currently holds this chair.
• Sybil T. and J. Frederick Patten Professorship for Excellence in Teaching in the College of Liberal Arts
  Established in 2003 by Sybil T. and J. Frederick Patten. Dr. Lynn Walford, associate professor of foreign languages, currently holds this professor.
• Wesson-Bridger Endowed Professorship in Teacher Education in the College of Education and Human Development
  Established in 2005 by Dr. Gale Bridger, former dean of the College of Education and Human Development, honoring her parents, Corrie B. and George D. Wesson, and her mother-in-law, Nettie Jones Bridger. Dr. Linda Easley, professor of education, currently holds this professorship.

Chairs & Professorships Fully Funded by Donors
& Waiting Louisiana Board of Regents Match

• Abe Sadoff Endowed Chair in the College of Sciences
  
• Capital One Endowed Professorship
  
• Endowed Professorship of History in the College of Liberal Arts
  
• George A. Khoury Jr. Super Professorship in American Humanics
  
• Goodloe Stuck Endowed Professorship of Psychology in the College of Education
  
• William B. Wiener Endowed Professorship of Archives and Historic Preservation in the Noel Library
  

Partially Funded Professorships

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Endowed Professorship
  
• Bobbie Hicks Endowed Professorship for the Pioneer Heritage Center Authors in April Program at LSUS
  
• Bruce and Steve Simon Endowed Professorship
  
• Dr. Lisa Burke Endowed Bioinformatics Professorship in the College of Sciences
  
• India Studies Super Professorship
  
• O. Delton Harrison Jr. Endowed Professorship of the Master of Liberal Arts Program
  

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