15 faculty assume named professorships

Six faculty have been appointed to named professorships following campuswide competition and approval by the UW System Board of Regents.

The board also appointed nine other faculty to named professorships at its meeting May 7-8 at UW-Oshkosh. All of the appointments, except for one, are effective July 1.

The six faculty selected through university-wide competition are sociology Professor Erik Olin Wright and physics Professor Sau Lan Wu, named Vilas Professors; and philosophy Professor Noel Carroll, history Professor William Courtenay, economics Professor Larry Samuelson, and psychology and zoology Professor Charles Snowdon, named Hilldale Professors.

Other faculty awarded named professorships are Robert Dempsey, professor of neurological surgery, Manucher J. Javid Professorship; Norman R. Drinkwater, professor of oncology and director of the McArdle Laboratory, Marian A. Messerschmidt Professorship in Cancer Research; Jeffrey Glassroth, who will become chair of the Department of Medicine on July 1, Love Professorship in Medicine; Bruce Hansen, who will join the Department of Economics on Aug. 24 as the first Richard (Archie) E. Stockwell Professor of Economics; Nellie McKay, professor of Afro-American Studies and English, Evjue-Bascom Professorship in Afro-American Studies; John Niederhuber, director of the Clinical Cancer Center, Wattawa Bascom Professorship in Cancer Research; Robert A. Pearce, associate professor of anatomy and anesthesiology, Betty J. Bamforth Research Professorship in Anesthesiology; Joel Rogers, professor of law, political science and sociology, John D. MacArthur Professorship; and Emily Stanley, who will join the Department of Zoology and Center for Limnology on July 1, Robert Bock Professorship in River Ecology.

The Vilas Professorships are named after William F. Vilas, former UW graduate and Civil War hero who served on the UW law faculty and the Board of Regents. Vilas, who was also postmaster general and secretary of the interior under President Grover Cleveland and a U.S. Senator, established a trust that has provided considerable support for a number of university activities. Vilas Professors receive a $10,000 contribution to their base salary and $20,000 for expenses and special projects.

Hilldale Professorships are awarded to faculty who are excellent scholars and outstanding researchers and show promise of continued productivity. Hilldale Professors receive $25,000 each year for five years for equipment, travel, release time and summer salary and other activities. The appointments can be renewed.