Chairs of Excellence
The Chairs of Excellence program began in the midst of the education reform and improvement measures passed by the General Assembly in the mid-1980s. This program brings eminent scholars to Tennessee public institutions and attracts research initiatives and private funding to our state. The program has resulted in an unprecedented level of donations to higher education from private and corporate sources.
The appointments to these chairs have been world-renowned. This program has brought new levels of scholarship to our campuses and has greatly increased the research output of all universities. This program, coupled with the equally successful Centers of Excellence program, raised Tennessee's status, among national peers, to new heights.
These Chairs were started with $44 million in state funding matched to private funds raised by individual campuses. The 1997-98 value of this endowment exceeded $205 million. Below is a summary of the number of chairs at each campus. The list represents the Chairs of Excellence at the selected institutions by sponsor.
Listing of Chairs of Excellence
Austin Peay State University
- Roy Acuff, Creative Arts
- Harper/Bourne, Business
- APSU Foundation, Free Enterprise
- Leonora C. Reuther, Nursing
East Tennessee State University
- Cecile Cox Quillen, Geriatrics and Gerontology
- AFG Industries, Business and Technology
- Allen and Ruth Harris, Business
- Carroll H. Long, Surgical Research
- Paul Dishner, Medicine
- James H. Quillen, Teaching and Learning
- Wayne G. Basler, Integration of the Arts, Sciences, and Technology
- LeeAnne Brown/UP, General Academic Pediatrics
Middle Tennessee State University
- John Seigenthaler, First Amendment Studies
- Jennings A. Jones, Free Enterprise
- Carl Adams, Health Care Services
- National HealthCorp, Nursing
- Robert and Georgianna Russell, Manufacturing
- Katherine Davis Murfree, Dyslexic Studies
- Mary E. Miller, Equine Health
- John C. Miller, Equine Reproductive Physiology
- Jennings and Rebecca Jones, Regional and Urban Planning
Tennessee State University
- Frist, Business
- Unnamed, Banking and Financial Services
Tennessee Technological University
- J.E. Owen, Business Administration
- William E. Mayberry, Business Administration
University of Memphis
- W. Harry Finestone, Molecular Biology
- Herbert Herff, Law
- Morris F. Fogelman, Real Estate
- Sales and Marketing Execs., Sales and Marketing
- Thompson-Hill, Accountancy
- Arthur Andersen and Co., Accounting II
- Lillian/Morrie Moss, Philosophy
- Wunderlich, Finance
- Herbert Herff, Biomedical Engineering I
- Bornblum, Judaic Studies
- Shelby County Government, International Economics
- Robert Wang, International Business
- Unnamed, Free Enterprise Management
- Lillian and Morrie Moss, English Poetry
- Herbert Herff, Biomedical Engineering II
- William and Ruth Loewenberg, Nursing
- Dorothy K. Hohenberg, Art History
- Federal Express, Management Information Systems
- Lillian and Morrie Moss, Psychology
- Lillian and Morrie Moss, Urban Education
- Jabie Sanford Hardin III, Combinatorics
- Helen and Jabie Hardin, Economics/Managerial Journalism
- Sparks, International Relations
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
- Provident Insurance Co., Applied Mathematics
- Lyndhurst Foundation, Arts Education
- Clarence E. Harris, Business
- J. Burton Frierson, Business Leadership
- George R. West, Jr., Communications and Public Affairs
- Am. National Bank and Trust, Humanities
- Unnamed, Judaic Studies
- Burkett Miller, Management and Technology
- Walter M. Cline, Jr., Rehabilitation Technology
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- Bernard Blasingame, Agricultural Policy
- Robert Condra, Computer Integrated Engineering and Manufacturing
- Hodges, English
- Nancy Gore Hunger, Environmental Studies
- Clayton Homes, Finance
- Bernadotte E. Schmitt, History
- Pilot Oil Corporation, Management
- Ivan Racheff, Materials Science
- Ivan Racheff, Ornamental Horticulture
- Lincoln, Physics
- Unnamed, Policy Studies
- J. Fred Holly, Political Economy
- Robert Condra, Power Electronics Applications
- Forrest and Patsy Shumway, Romance Languages
- Unnamed, Tech. and Medical Writing
- Henry Goodrich, Waste Management/Engineering
University of Tennessee, Martin
- Horace and Sara Dunagan, Banking
- Gil Parker, Food and Fiber Industries
- Tom E. Hendrix, Free Enterprise and Economics
University of Tennessee, Memphis Health Sciences Center
- Harriet S. VanVleet, Biochemistry
- Memphis Children's Hospital, Biomedical Engineering
- Maury W. Bronstein, Cardiovascular Physiology
- First Tennessee, Clinical Pharmacy
- Goodman, Medicine
- Harriet S. VanVleet, Microbiology and Immunology
- Semmes-Murphey, Neurology
- Faculty Chair, Obstetrics and Pathology
- E. Eric Muirhead, Pathology
- Federal Express, Pediatrics
- Plough Foundation, Pediatrics
- William and Dorothy Dunavant, Pediatrics
- LeBonheur, Pediatrics I
- LeBonheur, Pediatrics II
- Harriet S. VanVleet, Pharmacology
- Thomas A. Gerwin, Physiology
- J.R. Hyde, Rehabilitation Engineering
- Solqway, Urology
- Harriet S. VanVleet, Virology
University of Tennessee Space Institute
- H.H. Arnold, Computational Mechanics
- Edward J. and Carolyn Boling, Space Propulsion
