Chairs and Professorships

Responsibility: Vice-Provost, Faculty Relations 
Authorization: Board of Governors
Approval Date: Jun 28, 2001
Reformatted: Jul 8, 2005
Amended: Mar 21, 2017

The purpose of the policy is two-fold:

• To ensure chairs and professorships are established in accordance with the university’s financial policies, that they contribute to the academic mission of the university, and that they are financially viable based on the scope and objectives of the chair or professorship; and

• To honour and celebrate outstanding achievement in research, scholarly, or artistic work by those appointed to chairs or professorships and through honorific programs designed to recognize the accomplishments of the university’s faculty and emeriti.

The policy encompasses the following types of chairs and professorships:

• Tenure-Track or Continuing Status Chair: to appoint a chair to establish and maintain an emphasis in a particular academic area or field of study, for an extended period of time.  Normally this would be a distinguished scholar appointed to a tenure-track, who would contribute to academic programs through teaching, research and service;
  
  
• Defined /Limited Term Chair: to appoint chair holders to develop and enhance a specific area of teaching, research, or service for a defined or limited period.
  
  
• Visiting Chair: to bring outstanding individuals with a national or international reputation in their field to the university for a limited period of time
  
  
• Enhancement Chair: to enhance the activities of an outstanding individual currently employed at the University of Saskatchewan.
  
  
• Honorary Chair/Professorship: to recognize the contributions of an outstanding faculty or research staff member, retired colleague, or professional colleague from the public or private sector.

Chairs and professorships are supported by a wide array of different types of funds and may be funded either through an endowed trust, agreement, contract or other means, including university funds. The policy relies on the investment fund policies set by the Board of Governors and maintained by Financial Services and Trust and Endowment Services that apply to the funds supporting endowed chairs and professorships. Endowed or non-endowed chairs and professorships supported by donated funds may only be established with the authorization of Council and the Board of Governors. Chairs supported by tri-agency funding or similar agencies are covered by other procedures outside the scope of this policy.

Chairs and professorships will enhance specific areas of teaching, research and service, including outreach and engagement activity. The areas of development and enhancement will support the overarching goals and objectives of the university, the college or school, and the department and contribute to their achievement without compromising the academic freedom of the chair holder. Chairs and professorships enable the university to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of chair holders and those named to professorships. The university will recognize the commitment and generosity of those who donate funds to the university to support chairs and professorships.

The university will ensure that gifts of chairs or professorships do not contain conditions that compromise either the university’s or the chair holder’s integrity, autonomy or academic freedom.

The university is committed to accountability in its acceptance of chairs and professorships and for this reason the terms and conditions attached to these gifts will be matters of public record.

The university is committed to the highest standards of stewardship and will provide benefactors with timely information on the work completed under the sponsorship of the chair or professorship.

The university will recognize the generosity of its benefactors, and celebrate their gifts, in ways that are consistent with the policies and traditions of the university.

The Guidelines for Chairs and Professors set out the categories and conditions of chairs and professorships, required funding, and related procedures and responsibilities. These guidelines are intended to provide guidance to the university community in its acceptance and administration and fiduciary oversight of chairs and professorships.