Investiture Ceremony Celebrates Accomplished Faculty, Donors

The University of Texas at Dallas honored its latest endowed chairs and professors along with their supporters at an investiture ceremony before honorees’ families, colleagues and friends April 17 in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building Lecture Hall.

“UT Dallas is one of the nation’s youngest premier research universities,” Dr. Richard C. Benson, UT Dallas president and the Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership, said at the ceremony. “But despite our youth, with high-caliber faculty like those being honored today, we are national leaders in learning and discovery.”

The event celebrated faculty members in the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology; the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences; the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences; the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science; the Naveen Jindal School of Management; and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

“These appointments are given in recognition of the insights and passions that have grown from the professors’ years of research and teaching,” Benson said. “Investiture also marks a personal milestone for each recipient and a sure point of pride for family and friends in attendance.”

Endowed chairs and professorships, a tradition dating back 500 years, are the highest academic award the University can bestow on a faculty member. The endowments, funded through philanthropic donations, fund initiatives that advance research and instructional programs.

The ceremony also recognized donors whose support helped establish the endowed chairs and professorships. UT Dallas has more than 175 chairs and professorships, with several established by or honoring the University’s founders and early leaders.