Up until 1992, the University of Rhode Island never had an endowed chair, a position supported in perpetuity by a major donation, because it wasn’t a priority.
When URI President Robert Carothers joined the school it became a priority and within six years, seven endowed chairs have been added to the university.
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“We have focused our (fund-raising) campaign to increase endowments and we have been successful,” said Paul Witham, associate vice president for URI development.
Last week, Victor J. Baxt, vice chairman of Pawtucket based Teknor Apex, and a 1938 URI grad, donated $1 million to establish an endowed chair in the university’s chemical engineering program. The donation came a month after the university announced the final $250,000 gift by CVS Corporation to its $1.25 million endowment. The endowment will fund a faculty position to concentrate on community pharmacy.
Witham said such endowments are vital in attracting high caliber, nationally known professors.
“Receiving an endowed chair is a very prestigious honor that attracts the leaders in various fields to a school,” he added. Like most public colleges in the nation, URI was slow to work toward fund-raising, something typically associated with private schools. It hasn’t been until the last 25 years that public colleges have turned their attention to endowments, whether they are for a faculty position or scholarship fund.
“Private schools have been fund-raising since the early 1900s. That is why Harvard for instance has $10 billion in endowments,” he said. “The great thing about endowments is that they last forever.”
Funds pulled from an endowment come from interest on the donation, typically 4-to- 5 percent. The principal is never used and in most cases is increased through the years.
Witham said today a typical donation to set up an endowment is between $1 million and $1.5 million. The donations have come from a variety of sources, ranging from corporations to individuals.
The following are URI’s endowed chairs:
- Alfred J. Verrecchia — Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business.
- Ernest Mario — Distinguished Chair in Pharmaceutics. The Thomas M. Ryan/CVS Endowed Chair in Community Pharmacy.
- Chester H. Kirk — Chair in Engineering.
- Victor J. Baxt — Chair in Chemical Engineering.
- Eleanor M. and Oscar Carlson — Chair in Women’s Studies.
- Lawrence P. Weyker — Chair in Thanantology. (The College of Nursing for the study of care related to death and dying. The funds are held in trust at the Rhode Island Foundation, but are directed to the University to support the program.)
The donors typically have an idea of what area of a college they want the money spent on. In the business world, the funds usually go to areas specific to the company making the donation. The CVS endowment, for instance, targets a growing need in its industry.
“I believe community pharmacy can play an expanded role in improving the quality and delivery of health care in this country,” said CVS President and CEO Thomas M. Ryan. “The establishment of an endowed professorship in community pharmacy will help realize that goal.”
He added that it is his way to give back to the URI community and the pharmacy profession that has given him so much.
There are obvious benefits to a company that sets up an endowment. Along with tax benefits, companies that set up endowments in their field eventually could help themselves.
“A large corporation in a particular region has workforce needs. They need well educated, well trained individuals,” Witham said. “Another area would be continuing education. If a college is helping a corporation educate its current workforce, whether it is at the master’s degree level or certificate program, it is a consideration in donating funds to the school.”
He added that an endowment could also help in a research area, providing findings that could benefit a company down the road as well as the entire industry involved.
Witham said while URI has made progress in endowed chairs, the effort is far from over. He said the university is involved in major fund-raising to rebuild the College of Business facility, but they also have plans on adding endowments to the college in the future as well.
The dean of the college, Edward M. Mazze, who holds the Alfred J. Verrechia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business, would like to have an endowed chair in each of the five or six disciplines within the college. He added that the College of Engineering has similar ideas.
“We have identified this area as an important part of our growth and will continue to make strides in that direction,” Witham added.
