Named Professorships

The practice of endowing professorships began in England in 1502, when Lady Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond, mother of King Henry the Seventh and grandmother to the future King Henry the Eighth, created the first endowed chairs in divinity at Oxford and Cambridge. Nearly 50 years later, Henry the Eighth established the Regius Professorships at both universities. In fact, it was one of these Regius Professorships that was used to lure the great physician William Osler from Johns Hopkins to Oxford in 1905. The honor associated with appointment to an endowed position has remained unchanged since then. Private individuals soon adopted the practice of endowing professorships.

At Johns Hopkins, endowed professorships are especially important to our ongoing mission of teaching, research, and service. Endowment that allows for the hiring and retention of the best faculty is the foundation on which our success is built. The men and women who hold endowed professorships conduct some of our most significant research, attract the best students who want to work with acknowledged leaders, and bring considerable prestige to the Hopkins name.

Johns Hopkins faculty are not just renowned teachers. They are superb researchers and scholars—contributing new ideas, new discoveries, and new inventions to the world. Hopkins faculty have made groundbreaking contributions to the humanities, engineering, science, and medicine. In the process, they have inspired tens of thousands of students, most of whom go on to earn advanced degrees.