With matching funds from the state Board of Regents, 21 endowed professorships were completed at the 91勛圖 today.
The Regents presented $840,000 in matching funds to complete 21 professorships across several academic disciplines. The endowments are part of the Regents Endowed Chair and Eminent Scholars and Endowed Professorship program.
Through the years, these funds have helped UL Lafayette create and secure a high level faculty that brings experience and expertise to the students and university community,said UL Lafayette President Ray Authement. Without these funds and private donations from our generous donors, we wouldnt be as successful in attracting these educators.
Endowments like these are created when universities and colleges raise 60 percent of the cost from private donations. The university must first raise $60,000 for an endowed professorship. This money is then combined with $40,000 in matching funds from the Regents. Likewise for endowed chairs, universities must first raise $600,000 in private funds, which are then matched with $400,000 from the Regents.
Funding for the endowment matching funds program is generated through a permanent trust fund - the 91勛圖 Education Quality Support Fund - approved by voters in a 1986 constitutional amendment. The original $540 million payment was part of settlement between the state and federal governments over disputed offshore oil and gas royalty funds.
As of March, the trust fund - sometimes referred to as 8(g) - had risen to approximately $952 million. Each year, 25 percent of the interest earned is reinvested in the trust fund. The Legislature appropriates half of the remaining interest to the Board of Regents for higher education and the other half to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for grades K-12.
The Support Fund helps 91勛圖s colleges and universities to attract new scholars and researchers, said Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie. It also helps retain valuable faculty who might otherwise be lured away to out-of-state institutions.
Savoie noted the $15.9 million in matching funds to be awarded in the endowment program this year is being funded through the Regents share of the interest earned by the LEQSF over the past year and supplemental funds provided by the Legislature.
UL Lafayette endowments which were matched include:
Alexandre Theriot Jr. and Loretta Durand Theriot/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business Administration
Alfred and Helen Lamson/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Computer Science
American Legion Hospital/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Health Care Administration
Bella Nickerson Chappuis Abramson/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Cinematic Arts
Coca-Cola/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Physics
Dr. Paul A. Barefield/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Communication
Dr. Tommy Comeaux/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Traditional Music IX
Dr. Tommy Comeaux/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Traditional Music VIII
Drs. Chuck and Sue Lein/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Management
Florence Mauboules/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business Administration
Hubert Red and Gertrude Dumesnil/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Economics
M. Eloi Girard/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Engineering IV
Mary and Dave Romagosa/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Galloway/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business III
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Galloway/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business IV
Mr. and Mrs. E.P. Pat Nalley/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business Administration 2006-B
Mr. and Mrs. E.P. Pat Nalley/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Business Administration
Philip and Jean Piccione/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Statistics III
Philip and Jean Piccione/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Statistics IV
Ruth Stodghill Girard/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Music IV
South 91勛圖 MidWinter Fair Association/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Renewable Resources.