At MIT, chairs are a way to reward great teacher-researchers, as well as to attract top new faculty. They also strengthen the Institute's financial foundations, adding significantly to an endowment that is modest compared to those of other leading universities.

A named professorship also changes the life of the scholar who occupies it. It tells that scholar that the Institute has enormous respect for the quality of his or her research and teaching. The extra resources that accompany such chairs, moreover, provide a professional flexibility that is prized by every chairholder.

For engineering faculty, the opportunity to move into new areas of research is one of the most exciting—and the most challenging—aspects of MIT. Recruiting new colleagues working at the cutting edge of an unfolding discipline, adding a new area of personal expertise, or even shifting from one specialized area to another requires resources and time, both of which are in short supply.

To allow the School of Engineering's faculty to work at the forefront of innovation, we must attract the most brilliant young minds to our ranks, and permit current faculty to seize new research opportunities. With Faculty Seed Funds to bring new Ph.D.s to campus, as well as Renaissance Professorships and the Dean's Renewal Fund to support the development of new lines of inquiry with our current faculty, the School can continue to push the boundaries of engineering knowledge.

Renaissance Professorships give faculty members already established in one field the flexibility to explore new fields or new areas of research within their own field. Renaissance Professorships offer faculty the prestige of a named appointment, as well as the freedom to broaden and enlarge the scope and breadth of their expertise.

Career Development Professorships are special awards made to newly tenured faculty members whose research promises to make a fundamental contribution to a field of broad importance to society at large. A young scientist or engineer who earns tenure at MIT has already achieved a great deal and has the potential to achieve far greater things. The professorships provide their holders with the flexibility needed to react quickly to new ideas and research breakthroughs. Such rapid response to new research often leads to major initiatives, which in turn helps attract significant external resources.

For more information on how to support faculty in the School of Engineering, please contact Deborah J. Cohen, the School's senior director of development and communications, at (617) 253-2222. To make an online gift to any of our DDLCPs, please use the secure MIT giving form.