University Guidelines - Walgreen Endowed Chairs
A generous gift from the Walgreen family has established an endowment to
support the appointment of Walgreen Chairs. In accordance with the fund
agreement, the income from the endowment will be used to make faculty
appointments at the elite level and support concomitant academic programs such
as seminars, lectures, and colloquia. Walgreen Chairs are to be held by
individuals whose intellect and accomplishment place them among those most
distinguished in their respective field(s), as affirmed by such recognition as
Nobel or Pulitzer Awards or by evidential works (literature, poetry, journalism,
artistry, architecture, invention, service or engineering, mathematical, or
scientific discovery, etc.). Appointees
must be new to the University and may be assigned to or reside on any campus of
the University of Illinois. The
holders of the chairs shall also be designated as "Walgreen Fellows."
Selection Process: Recruiting elite scholars of the stature envisioned for appointment
as Walgreen Fellows will be a sensitive and delicate process. These scholars will be well recognized by their peers and highly
appreciated by their current employers. The
most effective approach is likely to be a targeted recruiting process, wherein
selected individuals are recruited specifically to serve as Walgreen chairs or
professors. Thus, the key step is
soliciting nominations and deciding which candidates will then be vigorously
recruited. Confidentiality of the process is essential and crucial.
The Walgreen Fellow Selection Committee has the primary responsibility for
selecting those nominees to be recruited for the Walgreen chairs and
professorships. This committee is
appointed and chaired by the President (or the Vice President for Academic
Affairs) and includes representatives of the very best scholars from our three
campuses, nominated by the Provosts. Members provide broad
representation of the intellectual breadth and diversity of the University and
are themselves outstanding scholars who have been formally recognized by their
peers and the University.
Nominations. Whenever there is a vacancy or
anticipated vacancy in a Walgreen
Chair, an announcement will be widely distributed to the academic
leadership
(Chancellor and Provost) on all three campuses that a vacancy exists
and that
the selection committee will entertain nominations at anytime as
targets of
opportunity. These targets will be identified by department heads and
deans and submitted to the Walgreen Committee through the provosts,
who must
endorse them. Once the committee
receives a nomination and determines that the request meets the high
standards
set by the donor, the Vice President for Academic Affairs will inform
the
provosts at the other two campuses that a nomination has been
received. The VPAA will ask them if they had any nominations in
progress. If so, the provosts would be asked to immediately forward to
the VPAA
whatever materials were at hand.
Selection. The committee considers the nomination materials of the candidate(s)
and determines if more information is needed. Once all materials are in hand to make a preliminary decision, the
committee will decide which, if any, nomination best meets the high standards
set for Walgreen Fellows. If a
candidate is chosen, the President will authorize the campus to proceed with
recruitment. Once the appointment has been approved by the Board of
Trustees and the University of Illinois Foundation, the VPAA will inform the
academic departments on the campuses that an appointment was made and that no
new nominations would be considered.
Funding: The amount of funds allocated to each
Walgreen Chair will depend upon
the income generated by the endowment and the number of Chairs.
Initially, it is anticipated that $120,000 will be budgeted for each of
two chairs. Of this amount, $75,000
(62%) will be applied to the appointee's salary, $30,000 (25%) will
provide an
allowance, and $15,000 (13%) will support seminars, lectures, and
colloquia
(these will be presented as "Walgreen Seminars," "Walgreen Lectures,"
etc.). The allowance will be used
at the discretion of the Walgreen Fellow to further his or her research
except
that salary rate increases will not be permitted. Additional funds
necessary to support each Walgreen Fellow will come from
the appropriate department, college, or campus.
Appointments: It is assumed that each Walgreen
Fellow will be granted the rank of
professor with indefinite tenure. Walgreen
Chair designations accompany tenured status; they do not carry tenure in
and of
themselves. Nevertheless, it is
expected that appointees will hold the Walgreen Chair designation as
long as
they are a full-time faculty member and active in their department;
there is not a specified length of
appointment as there is with other chairs. An appointee holds tenure in a
home unit with a professorial rank in a
discipline, not in the named appointment. In
such cases, tenure will reside in the department and not the Walgreen
Chair. Thus, each Walgreen fellow will have a non-tenured appointment as
"Walgreen Professor of . . ." and a tenured appointment as
"professor of . . . ."