Wheaton College acknowledges outstanding achievement in the scholarship and teaching of its tenured faculty through its endowed professorships.
An endowed chair is both a distinguished recognition by the college, as well as an investment that will result in the improvement of the quality of teaching and research contributions to the college.
The proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Intellectual validity of the project to be undertaken or expanded during the time of the named chairship
- Feasibility of research implementation
- A clear plan of goals and expected outcomes for each of the five years, including what the yearly reports may contain
The chair is awarded for a period of five years, during which time the holder will receive support to conduct research in the form of course releases. $2,000 will be available each year to support research expenses. Annual reports to the Provost are expected.
Consideration is by nomination or self-nomination. Proposals and supporting materials will be reviewed by the Committee on Faculty Scholarship and Promotion and by the Provost.
The Meneely Professorship was established in 1961 to honor President Meneely, who presided over the college for seventeen years following World War II, with a particular commitment to academic quality and intellectual rigor. It is awarded to a professor with outstanding scholarly credentials. This professorship is open to tenured full Professors with established scholarly credentials. Once during the five-year period of the award, the Meneely Professor will be expected to give a public lecture, with a demonstration or exhibit where relevant, on the work undertaken during the period of the Professorship.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1972-74 Judy Rosenblith
1974-75 Dorothea Wender
1975-78 Bojan Jennings
1978-80 Richard Pearce
1980-81 Francis Shirley
1981-82 Thomas McCormick
1982-84 Hilda Kahne
1984-85 Travis Crosby
1985-86 Travis Crosby
1986-88 Vaino Kola
1988-90 David Vogler
1990-92 Roberta Olson
1992-94 David Wulff
1994-96 Alexander Bloom
1996-98 Ken Winston
1998-00 Sam Coale
2000-05 Beverly Clark
2005-10 John Kricher
2010-15 Mark LeBlanc
2015-20 William Goldbloom Bloch
2020-25 Francisco de Alba
The William and Elsie Prentice Professorship is open to tenured members of the Wheaton Faculty with outstanding teaching credentials. The teaching load of the Prentice Professor may be reduced in order to permit taking a course at Wheaton or elsewhere, working on a project related to teaching, or other activities that enhance the faculty member’s abilities as a teacher.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1976-79 Mary Heuser
1979-82 Nancy Norton
1982-85 Paul Helmreich
1985-88 Jay Goodman
1988-90 Elita Pastra-Landis
1990-92 Gordon Weil
1992-94 Beverly Clark
1994-96 Rochelle Leibowitz
1996-98 Darlene Boroviak
1998-00 Donna Kerner
2000-05 Edmund Tong
2005-10 Michael Drout
2010-15 Nancy Kendrick
2015-20 Robert Morris
2020-25 Rachelle DeCoste
The Bojan Hamlin Jennings Chair in the Natural Sciences was established with gifts from the Mars Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Smith, in honor of Bojan Hamlin Jennings, Professor of Chemistry from 1943 to 1985. The Bojan Hamlin Jennings Chair is awarded to distinguished tenured faculty of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, or Geology for outstanding teaching and research that strengthens Wheaton’s traditional liberal arts curriculum and reinforces its commitment to scholarship and creative teaching.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1987-92 John Kricher
1992-97 Elita Pastra-Landis
1997-02 Tim Barker
2002-07 Betsey Dyer
2007-12 John Collins
2012-17 Scott Shumway
2017-22 Geoff Collins
2022-27 Laura Ekstrom
The Mary Heuser Chair in the Arts was established in 1996 in honor of Mary Heuser, Emerita Professor of Art. This Chair recognizes outstanding teaching and research in the arts at Wheaton and is open to full-time tenured members of the Wheaton Faculty in Music, Theater, Art, and Creative Writing.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1992-94 Ann Murray
1994-95 —————
1995-97 Sue Standing
1997-99 Roberta Olson
1999-00 Roberta Olson
2001-06 Ann Murray
2006-11 Ann Sears
2011-16 Tripp Evans
2016-21 Charlotte Meehan
2021-26 Deyonne Bryant
The Dorothy Reed Williams Professorship in the Social Sciences recognizes a member of the Social Sciences faculty with high standards of scholarship and teaching who encourages his or her students to use their talents in service to the community and the society in which they live. The Williams Professorship is open to a tenured member of the Social Sciences faculty.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1994-96 Kersti Yllo
1996-98 Derek Price
1998-00 Bianca Cody Murphy
2000-05 John Miller
2005-10 Kathleen Morgan
2010-15 Vicki Bartolini
2015-20 Rolf Nelson
2020-25 Karen McCormack
The Jane Oxford Keiter ’64 Endowed Professorship is awarded to a senior member of the Wheaton faculty in the Humanities or Social Sciences for outstanding teaching and research that strengthens Wheaton’s traditional liberal arts curriculum and reinforces its commitment to scholarship and creative teaching.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1996-01 David Vogler
2001-06 Frances Maher
2006-11 Alexander Bloom
2011-16 Javier Trevino
2016-21 Kim Miller
2021-26 Gail Sahar
The Jane E. Ruby Chair is open to full-time tenured members of the Wheaton Faculty in the Humanities or Social Sciences. The Chair will be awarded in recognition of outstanding teaching and research that has had a demonstrable impact on scholarship and on student learning.
Endowed Chair Holders:
1998-03 Travis Crosby
2003-08 Sue Standing
2008-13 Matthew Allen
2013-18 Evelyn Staudinger
2018-2023 Alireza Shomali
2023-2029 Jade Werner
The Hannah Goldberg Chair in Teaching Innovation is open to all full-time tenured members of the Wheaton Faculty. It is given in recognition of innovative contributions to teaching at Wheaton.
Endowed Chair Holders:
2024-29 Dana Polanichka
1999-04 John Grady
2004-09 Barbara Brennessel
2009-14 Kirk Anderson
2014-19 Josh Stenger
2019-24 Claudia R. Fieo
Established in 1997 by Sandra Ohrn Moose ’63, Janet Lindholm Lebovitz P’72, Pauline Simington Newcomer ’36, and other alumnae/i friends in honor of Professor of Economics Henrietta Jennings, the Henrietta Jennings Chair is intended to reward outstanding teaching in the liberal arts and is open to tenured professors in any department. The annual stipend of $2,000 per year both rewards innovative teaching and supports its continued development.
Nominees must submit four supporting letters of recommendation from students, colleagues, or alumnae/I, as appropriate, and must also submit syllabi from all courses taught in the last six semesters of teaching along with student evaluations from those same semesters, and any available summaries.
Endowed Chair Holders:
2002-05* Kersti Yllo
2005-10 Edward Gallagher
2010-15 Gerry Huiskamp
2015-20 Anni Baker
2020-25 Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus
(*relinquished when Assoc. provost)
This endowed fund supports the work of a tenured or tenure-track professor in the departments of visual art, film and media studies, and digital humanities.
The Cole Chair has been awarded since 2010 to support outstanding scholarship, teaching, and service in the areas of sociology or anthropology. This Chair is open to tenured faculty whose scholarship substantively engages with the fields of sociology and/or anthropology.
Endowed Chair Holders:
2010-15 John Grady
2015-20 Donna Kerner
2020-25 M. Gabriela Torres
Providing an endowed fund for entrepreneurial education programming, the Diana Davis Spencer Chair in Social Entrepreneurship makes Wheaton one of a few liberal arts colleges nationwide, and the first in the Northeast, to establish an endowed professorship in social entrepreneurship.
Endowed Chair Holder:
2019 Imran Chowdhury
The holder of the Brown Chair shall be “a distinguished faculty member whose scholarly interests relate to balancing urban issues and natural resources.” The Brown Chair will be open to all full-time, tenured faculty members who meet the interests described below. The Brown Chair holder should have a particular interest in balancing the needs of economic growth and development with the importance of preserving the environment and natural resources.
According to the stipulations of the Brown gift, special consideration will be given to faculty members with an interest in any of the following cross-disciplinary areas:
- Rural development
- Preservation of critical habitat and biological diversity
- Water quality and utilization, particularly septic flow and farm pollution
- Urban sprawl and green space
- Urbanization of wildlife
- County and township planning and coordination
- Citizen education
- Private, corporate, and public partnerships for environment management
- Managing resources on a natural geographic basis and integration of environmental and conservation programs
Endowed Chair Holders:
2014-19 Russell Williams
2019-20 ———————
2020-25 Matthew Evans
The Frances A. Shirley Endowed Professorship in the Humanities was established in 2023 through a generous bequest from Professor Emerita Frances A. Shirley. A beloved, influential, and respected member of the faculty and notable Shakespeare scholar, Professor Shirley taught in Wheaton’s English Department for 36 years. During her tenure at the college, she served as the Chair of the English Department, Assistant Dean, and Associate Provost. The Frances A. Shirley Endowed Professorship in Humanities will be awarded to a distinguished faculty member from the Humanities, particularly in the fields of English, Theater, and Dramatic Literature.
Endowed Chair Holder:
2024 – 29 Mike Drout
Page updated May 16, 2024