Talented professors are the single greatest resource of a research university, and the University of Notre Dame is no exception. The presence of exceptional teacher-scholars on the faculty affects every aspect of the University: from the quality of academic programs and student recruits, to Notre Dame’s ranking among elite universities, to the real-world impact of the University’s research programs. As Notre Dame strives to achieve preeminence as the world’s leading Catholic research university and to further refine its tradition of superb undergraduate teaching, it is aggressively seeking to add to its trove of exemplary professors while retaining current faculty who may be recruited by competing institutions. Central to these efforts will be the creation of dozens of new endowed professorships and directorships.
Conferring an unmatched level of prestige and recognition, endowed professorships are a critical component in the University of Notre Dame’s quest to attract and retain the best scholars and researchers and the most charismatic teachers. Due to the growth of our research efforts and our faculty, more and more people are reaching a level of success deserving of an endowed professorship. However, we currently are unable to provide enough endowed professorships for those faculty who deserve them, especially in the College of Engineering, and there is a strong desire to use endowed professorships in recruiting new hires. In order to retain our talented assistant and associate professors, as well as attract other preeminent faculty to the College, more named professorships are required.