Art history arrival latest of The U of M's 25 Chairs of Excellence

With sparse surroundings in a mostly white room, the newest chair of excellence Katherine Hoffman already looks quite at home.

"Hopefully, I'll get it together soon," she said, laughing.

A tenured professor at New Hampshire's Saint Anselm College, she has been in Memphis for less than two weeks but said she's enjoyed being in the South.

She's taught in Austria, London and South Carolina, studied in New York and Massachusetts and gone to France, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to pursue both personal and professional endeavors in art history.

As the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Chair of Excellence, she hopes to use her time teaching art history at The University of Memphis to learn more about the culture, talk with students about their interests and meet a variety of people. Unlike most chair holders, Hoffman will be at The U of M only one semester.

"I'm just trying to get organized at the moment," she said. "It's been a daunting task."

In addition to her other duties, Hoffman is responsible for teaching a single class, modern American photography 1900-1970.

"I really think the concept is a great one - bringing different scholars in and out of The University," she said. "It's nice to have new blood in such a structured situation."

The U of M boasts 25 endowed chair of excellence positions across campus, and six Centers of Excellence.

The chairs are chosen for proving to be outstanding members of academia in their chosen disciplines or fields. They work in multiple facets to develop and implement academic policy and curriculum.

Pam Jenkins, director of academic affairs finance and planning, is involved with the programs on a fiscal level. The unique aspect of the chair of excellence positions, she said, is the freedom of each department to fill the assignment.

"These are faculty that are outstanding in their field or have done lots of research," Jenkins said. "They bring with them a level of prestige we strive for and sometimes just by being here, they end up recruiting students we may not have gotten otherwise. They're the cream of the crop."

Bob Levey, the Hardin Chair of Excellence for the journalism department, has been at The U of M for nearly three years. He supervises four graduate students, including, Tim Sullivan, the current deputy sports editor of the New York Post.

"I can't say that my being here is the only reason he chose our department - it's a great department - but he was familiar with my work and wanted to work on a graduate degree with a solid school and a good program," Levey said. "Memphis is pretty innovative that we could offer him that option."

Jenkins also said the chairs of excellence have a lot to do with the quality of faculty The University maintains.

"The type of grad students, too," she added. "If they're really well known, students will want to come study with them."

Both Hoffman's and Levey's positions rotate on a six to 12-month basis; however, most chairs of excellence stay for longer terms. Their performance is reviewed every seven years, as applicable.

In 2008, The University filled three chairs of excellence in real estate, psychology, and hotel and hospitality management departments. The hospitality chair is unique in that the title is largely ornamental and not endowed. Other chairs yet to be filled include biomedical engineering, nursing and international relations.

Jenkins wouldn't attribute the new contracts, or lack thereof, to economic instability or any change in University policy.

"There's nothing special about it," Jenkins said. "The chairs of excellence are treated like any other faculty position and are hired on an as-needed, departmental basis."

Zabi Rezaee has been the Thompson-Hill Chair of Excellence in the accountancy and business law department for the past eight years.

"I'm very happy with the resources available to me," he said. "I have the flexibility to do research, write books and teach classes, plus be a source of help and mentoring for junior faculty. I guess our main job here at The University is to bring prestige and stronger global reputation."

Charles Bailey, the Arthur Anderson Chair of Excellence in the Department of Accountancy and Business Law, has been leading research on professional and ethical decision making.

"The positions are a real move up for somebody because you do have a lot of resources," Andersen said. "It's something of national interest. I think that's something The University looks for in its chairs of excellence - staying visible at a national level. We want to keep The University visible."

Robert Bernasconi, now in his last semester as the Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in the philosophy department, said he's had a wonderful experience.

"I always assumed it was my main task to help build the Ph.D. program in philosophy," he said. "We've all worked together for 20 years to create one of the most successful programs around, based on placement of graduated students. We have more African-American doctoral students than anywhere else in the country."

Chairs hold a tenure-track appointment in the their home department or academic unit, subject to the same rules and conditions as any other tenured professor.

The salary is from the department in which they belong, but ranges from $70,000 to $200,000, depending on length of service and how the contracts were negotiated. Most of this money comes from interest gathered by endowments given by private donors to the departments. In some cases, the government matches the sum with grants based on a percentage established by the treasury department.

"A million doesn't go as far as it used to," Jenkins said. "If the market is doing bad then the account won't earn as much interest. It all trickles down."

Because of long-term inflation, some positions are facing troubled times. The international relations chair, currently empty, was founded on an older gift and doesn't garner funds like many newer positions do.

Chairs of excellence may receive salary supplements and various forms of financial and staff support for their research or other scholarly activity.

"Some have been here for years," Jenkins said. "They're people we like to keep."