4.12     Professorships

Endowments or trusts are established to support professorships for senior faculty in academic departments of the university.  The term, professorship, refers to an appointment which carries a salary supplement and may also provide funds for appropriate expenses related to teaching and/or professional activities.  Criteria for selection, terms of appointment, and other details vary and are established for the specific professorship involved.  A professorship usually is named in honor of an individual, business firm, or organization.

A.    The Creighton Sossomon Professorship

The Creighton Sossomon Professorship was established for the purpose of strengthening the faculty in the Department of History by assisting Western Carolina University in attracting and/or retaining outstanding scholar-teachers in American, English, or European history.  Appointments to the professorship are limited to specialists in these fields and are intended to recognize and encourage superior teaching.

The Sossomon Professorship provides a salary supplement.  The term of appointment is three years, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual may be appointed.  The chancellor is advised in the appointment process by the provost and a special advisory committee composed of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the head of the Department of History, and a faculty member from outside the Department of History.

B.    The H. F. and Catherine P. Robinson Professorship

The H. F. Robinson and Catherine P. Robinson Fund was established by the Robinsons’ families and friends to honor their memories and their substantial contributions of their lives and career to higher education, to North Carolina, and to Western Carolina University.  The professorship seeks to fulfill Dr. Robinson’s wish to encourage and inspire faculty members in their quest for quality instruction, research, and service.

Specifically, the professorship recognizes and rewards a faculty member in the Department of Biology whose contributions in teaching, research, and service to the people of Western North Carolina mountain area exemplify the goals and dreams of Cotton Robinson.

The award designates the faculty member selected as H. F. Robinson Professor for a three-year term and provides a salary supplement of $1,000 per year.