Types of Distinguished Professorships

There are two types of Distinguished Professors: Named professorships and University professorships. Named professorships are funded partly through an endowment, reflected in the title of the professor, while a University professorships are funded entirely by KU.

The search for a Named professor begins with the department or school, which forwards a nominee to the University Committee. For University professorships, the committee acts as both the search body (following a call for nomination from the Provost) and review body. There is no distinction in award criteria or prestige between the types.