Support for Faculty and Programs

“The establishment of an endowed chair signals the state, the nation, and possibly the world that UConn is committed to excellence in the chair’s area of research and teaching. The establishment of the Aetna Chair of Writing in 1986 has produced not just a ripple effect but a sea of change.” – Lynn Z. Bloom, Aetna Chair of Writing The Aetna Chair has brought to campus many well-known authors – novelists, poets, and essayists – who have lectured and met one-on-one with students to critique their writing and offer suggestions. It has supported writers-in-residence and has led to a renewed emphasis on teaching students in all disciplines to write and communicate clearly. Click here for more.

Faculty lead the research and teaching that make a University great. Private giving can support their leadership, reward talent, and recognize academic achievement.

Endowing a faculty chair provides long-term support that recognizes academic leadership in a field of the humanities, sciences, or social sciences. Endowed chairs are prestigious positions that attract top-ranked scholars to the College. A named chair can support teaching and research by that scholar as well as work by graduate students and visiting lecturers who are well known in their field. The activities of the faculty chair and the programs associated with the chair provide lasting recognition for the donor whose endowment gift names them.

Professorships, fellowships, and awards are other ways for donors to recognize outstanding faculty achievement. They can help the College recruit and retain faculty and compete with top national institutions that offer attractive start-up packages. They can help faculty build programs in their area of expertise and attract eminent visiting scholars.

Program support and endowments build the College’s reputation in particular areas and allow us to share our expertise with the public. In recent years, private gifts have made it possible for the College to build programs of excellence in natural history, archaeology, conservation and biodiversity, creative writing, human rights, biostatistics and public health, to name a few. Gifts have enriched the intellectual offerings of the College with invited lectures in physics, chemistry, literature, history, public affairs, and the environment. Private support has made it possible for us to bring to campus Nobel Prize winners and distinguished authors, who often provide tutorials for our students in addition to their public lectures.