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For example, Professor Stephen Boyd - Samsung Professor, Professor Paul Newman - BP Professor

Does it mean said company pays that professor's salary? Does that professor have any obligations towards said company? Who decides which professor gets which company?

Buffy
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Rufus
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    Samsung gave the money to endow the chair. The university picks the professor to occupy the chair. – Jon Custer Dec 01 '21 at 22:04
  • Very similar question: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/12607/what-is-an-endowed-chair-exactly-how-does-it-compare-to-a-normal-position?noredirect=1&lq=1 – Anonymous Physicist Dec 01 '21 at 23:58
  • https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/28524/corporate-branding-of-chair-professorship – Anonymous Physicist Dec 01 '21 at 23:58
  • https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/15956/endowed-assistant-professor-vs-assistant-professor – Anonymous Physicist Dec 01 '21 at 23:59
  • Also similar question: https://academia.stackexchange.com/q/8088/746 – Austin Henley Dec 02 '21 at 00:03
  • There are university chairs named for non-companies as well. For example, Isaac Newton was the Lucasian professor at Cambridge. That professorship was begun when Lucas left 4,000 volumes to the university, together with land yielding an income of £100 per year. Of course endowing a chair nowadays is more expensive than that. – GEdgar Dec 01 '21 at 22:17

2 Answers2

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Such things are honorific and based on grants from companies that "endow (fund) a chair". That is academic-speak for a fairly large grant that normally is enough to fund a person and probably their research over several years. The funds will be administered by the university and the company may have some (perhaps a lot) of say into who holds the chair, given that they meet other university criteria. Some of the "endowments" are large enough to be perpetual, with only interest accumulation and such being used for disbursement.

Sometimes such things are used as an inducement to try to attract someone with either a lot of promise or a solid research record.

In the better arrangements, the company will have very limited say, but perhaps a veto.

It is a form of advertising and virtue-signaling by companies.

Buffy
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  • I used to work on these gift agreements… I never saw one where the company had any sway beyond designating the criteria. – Dawn Dec 01 '21 at 23:12
  • @Dawn, things have gotten weird and politicized. Some companies have ulterior motives. I vaguely remember a scandal or two. – Buffy Dec 01 '21 at 23:17
  • Nikole Hannah-Jones and the UNC, for example. – Buffy Dec 01 '21 at 23:24
  • A scandal is a scandal because It is unusual and unethical. I think you have the emphasis wrong in this answer. – Dawn Dec 01 '21 at 23:25
  • That is not the case of a company having too much sway over an endowed chair position. That was a fight about tenure and the Board. – Dawn Dec 01 '21 at 23:26
  • @Dawn and Buffy OP specifically mentioned the BP Professorship of Information Engineering at Oxford. According to these regulations, that Professor is chosen by a nine-person committee, and BP is entitled to be consulted on the selection of one of the nine members of that committee. So BP has a say, but not by any means a big say. – Daniel Hatton Dec 01 '21 at 23:31
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This situation is called a "named professorship." They are not specific to companies.

A named professorship usually is created because a wealthy individual, or occasionally a company, decides that they want the professorship to have that name. It is similar to buying the naming rights to a stadium or a building. Legally, it's typically a donation. Universities also name professorships occasionally just because they think it sounds good.

Being a named professor is an honor.

Does it mean said company pays that professor's salary?

No. In some cases, money received from the sponsoring individual or company is invested and used to pay some or all the salary at a later date. This is called an endowment.

Does that professor have any obligations towards said company?

Usually no. There could be exceptions. Typically the professor is someone with a track record in an area of interest to the funder.

Who decides which professor gets which company?

Not normally. Most Western universities consider it improper for any professorship to be assigned through any process which is not controlled by faculty. That includes named professorships. However, other countries things may be more flexible, and some Western universities there has been a trend towards allowing sponsors to influence hiring.

Anonymous Physicist
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