Why?Western Carolina University’s College of Business has a unique blend of highly qualified faculty. Like the competitive job market in corporate America, Western is struggling to retain its best faculty members. Competition increases as universities contend with the problem of too few qualified faculty for too many openings.
The fact is that universities with better financial packages are recruiting Western’s talented professors. North Carolina is behind in its competitive faculty benefits package, such as retirement contributions, health care options, and summer incentive programs. Western recognizes these shortcomings and is working to enhance what it has to offer its faculty. One innovative solution is a faculty fellowship – to reward faculty productivity and to encourage the best professors to remain at Western.
What?
A faculty fellowship is an appointment awarded to a current faculty member for a specified period of time – usually three years– that provides supplemental funds for work related to teaching and/or research.
The fellowship is named for the donor.
How?
With a small investment, a business or individual can make an enormous contribution to retaining the high caliber of business faculty at Western. To establish a faculty fellowship, a donor agrees to contribute $15,000 either in a lump sum or through a series of annual pledges of $5,000 for three years. Awards are made once a year, with 80 percent, less benefits, of the money going to the professor as an additional stipend and the remaining 20 percent, less benefits, being available for professional development – conference travel, special equipment and books.
The donor may designate which business discipline or department should award the fellowship but the selection of the faculty member to receive the appointment is a personnel matter that resides with administrative officers of the university.
Current Faculty Fellowships
Johnson Faculty Fellowship
Dr. Debasish Banerjee
Computer Information Systems
John and June Horne Faculty Fellowship
Dr. Dan Clapper
Computer Information Systems
DeSoto Family Faculty Fellowship
Dr. Julie Johnson
Professional Selling
Barry and Pat Smith Faculty Fellowship
Dr. Roger Lirely
Accountancy
Interested?
Contact Leroy Kauffman, dean of the College of Business, at 828-227-3008, or by email at kauffman@email.wcu.edu