Endowed Chair or Professorship at Augustana University
Endowing a chair or professorship is one of the most effective means of attracting, nurturing and retaining top faculty. Endowed chairs and professorships that attract and support distinguished faculty are among the most significant ways you can help provide a high-quality education for our students.
• Chairs and professorships are most often funded by gifts — private support — to the university.
• The university’s endowment spending policy preserves and increases the value of the endowment. A portion of the interest earned on the principal of your gift — currently 5% — will be used to fund the chair or professorship. By protecting the principal investment, the endowment provides support in perpetuity, which over time, will increase as the value of the principal increases.
• A minimum of $3 million is required for an endowed chair and a minimum of $1 million is required for an endowed professorship.
• The fund can appear in one’s own name, in honor or memory of someone or in the name of your company.
“It is a privilege to serve as the Nef Family Chair of Political Economy. In this role, I am entrusted to engage students and the broader community in critical inquiry focused on the intersections of government and economic systems. Having this legacy gift has enabled me to consider with my students how the decisions made by economic and political leaders impact our society, locally and nationally. I am grateful to the Nef family for their generosity, which has afforded me an opportunity to invigorate AU’s vibrant intellectual community and empower our students to serve society with insight, wisdom and excellence.”
— Dr. Emily Wanless, Nef Family Chair of Political Economy
“I’m so grateful that Augustana University has an endowed chair of moral values, which provides resources to cultivate ethical reflection, caring community and social responsibility — hallmarks of an AU education. Serving as the chair of moral values has given me the opportunity to bring our community together around the values that matter most. What a blessing!”
— Dr. Stephen Minister, Stanley L. Olsen Chair of Moral Values
Ways to Fund
Endowed Chair or Professorship
An endowed chair or professorship may be funded through the following:
• an outright gift to the university, paid in entirety or over a period of up to five years. For example, a $1 million endowment may be established through a gift of the entire amount, through five annual installments of $200,000 or through some other pledge payment plan.
• making gifts of appreciated property or securities to the university. By making a gift of appreciated securities, you can save income taxes twice by:
- receiving a charitable deduction for the current value of the stock, and
- eliminating payment of capital gains tax on the stocks’ increased value.
• establishing a deferred gift, such as a bequest, life income gifts (charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, etc.), life insurance or qualified retirement plan assets.