I n medieval England, stools and benches were the common seating, and the rare and valuable chair was reserved for the distinguished person who held a position of authority. Tables were, in fact, made from boards stretched over trestles, and the person seated in the chair was referred to as the chairman of the board. It doesn't take much imagination to see the historical basis for the modern usage of the terms. Until recently, there were no chairs in the Department of Chemistry. The status a chair confers and the endowment it provides support research and travel funding, graduate students, and other requirements of active and distinguished scholars.
Endowed professorships have exactly the same function.
They reward outstanding academic leadership and accomplishment and provide an endowment, usually smaller, to carry out the named professor's research and teaching. It is my great pleasure to publicly acknowledge the following gifts of a chair and professorship to the Department of Chemistry. They will make all the difference in what we are able to accomplish as we pursue our strategy of excellence in research and teaching. His planned gift, an endowment, will exist in perpetuity. After graduating from Indiana University in 1959, Frank's only employment was with Dow Chemical Co., starting in technical service and development and then moving through sales, marketing, business management, and other positions.