Marie M. and Harry L. Smith Endowed Chair

Purpose

The Marie M. and Harry L. Smith Endowed Chair seeks to promote and support the work of outstanding faculty at the University of Missouri.

Award

The award consists of a three-year term with $25,000 each year to support research and teaching activities. Three faculty members will be awarded this endowed chair beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year.

Eligibility

This endowed chair is open to:

  • Tenured and NTT faculty members at the associate or full professor levels. If in an administrative position (e.g., department chair), no more than 50% of workload can be devoted to administrative activities.

Nominations

Deans may nominate individuals.

Nomination materials should include (submitted as one PDF file):

  1. Submission Requirements Form (to access the form, you must log in using .umsystem.edu email account)
  2. Nomination letter from dean (from both deans if joint appointment). From the dean’s perspective, please address how the nominee demonstrates a reputation for excellence in teaching and research in their discipline and how the proposed award activities will improve their research and teaching efforts. (limit 2 pages double spaced)
  3. Letter of support from department chair (from both chairs if joint appointment). From the chair’s perspective, please address how the nominee demonstrates a reputation for excellence in teaching and research in their discipline and how the proposed award activities will improve their research and teaching efforts. This letter should also specify the nominee’s workload distribution and if the nominee holds any other professorship appointments (e.g., endowed positions, Curators’ Distinguished Professor) (limit 2 pages doubled spaced)
  4. Statement, prepared by nominee, of how the Endowed Chair funding will support the faculty member’s research and teaching in relation to the campus’ values and strategic priorities. The award is $25,000 for 3 academic years (2027-2028 to 2029-2030) for a total of $75,000. Include the outcomes and measures used to demonstrate impact of the funding (what will be produced). (limit 3 pages double spaced)
  5. Budget narrative, prepared by nominee, that describes how the money will be spent in relation to goals and an anticipated timeline of activities that will occur during of the 3-years of the award (limit 2 pages double spaced).
    • May include, but not limited to research support and equipment, professional development, support for pilot studies, teaching materials, staff support, and/or hiring of students for research
    • The funding is not eligible to be used for salary stipend
  6. Nominee’s CV

Submissions

The deadline for this endowment is January 15 (due the following business day when falls on a weekend or holiday).

Nomination packets for this endowment must be submitted by the Divisional Dean, who may establish an earlier deadline. The Divisional Dean will submit the nomination packet as a single PDF attachment via email to UMCProvostAwards@missouri.edu. The PDF file should be named as follows: YearSmithEndowChair_LastFirst (e.g., 2027SmithEndowChair_TigerTruman)

Please contact Brian Houston, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs (houstonjb@missouri.edu) with any questions.

Recipients

  • Brandon Boyd, Associate Professor, School of Music
  • Kelli Canada, Professor, Social Work
  • Kuntara Pukhuanthong, Professor, Finance
  • James Schiffbauer, Professor, Geological Sciences