Yale University confers named professorships, like the prestigious Sterling Professorship, to recognize distinguished faculty, with endowments often funded by alumni or donors, honoring specific fields (Poetry, Economics, etc.) or figures. These appointments are significant honors reflecting deep impact in research, teaching, and service, covering various disciplines from Humanities to Sciences and Professional Schools.
Named Professorships are recorded in Workday by adding an academic appointment, with the identifier NP – Named Professorship.
Typically Named Professorships do not have an end date, as the faculty member usually holds that title until separation or retirement. In rare circumstances, it may be that a faculty member switches from one named professorship to the next; for example, if they hold a named professorship, and it is voted that they are recognized with a more eminent Sterling Professorship, then one named professorship is ended, and the next is added in Workday.
Process:
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After it has been determined that a faculty member should receive a named professorship, and it has been voted affirmatively by Yale Corporation, OFAS is notified and enters in these named professorships directly in Workday, matching the academic appointment to the gift slot number.
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At the time that the academic appointment is entered in Workday, OFAS also adjusts the business title to reflect the new named professorship.
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OFAS does not process any financial transactions that might be related to Named Professorships. The academic unit’s business office managers are informed if they need to make any costing allocation changes.
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Typically a named professorship is associated with one academic unit. For example, if a faculty member is fully joint between History and Political Science, but the named professorship is linked to History, then the naming convention would be [NAME Professor of History and Professor of Political Science], to denote the affiliation.
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When a faculty member enters phased retirement, OFAS inserts an end date into the named professorship in Workday.
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When a faculty member leaves Yale, including retirement, OFAS also ends the named professorship in Workday.
Troubleshooting:
If you notice any errors or discrepancies with the named professorship in Workday, please write to us at faculty.admin@yale.edu.