Making it Possible: A Look at the Impact of Endowed Professorships

By Loralyn Cecil
CHS Philanthropy Director

Last year, the College of Health Sciences announced the Daus Family Endowed Professorship in Physician Assistant Studies.

Endowed professorships are faculty positions permanently funded by endowed gifts to support faculty research, teaching and to create opportunities to benefit students. These positions are pivotal to recruiting and retaining the best researchers and educators, while also helping to elevate the College’s reputation.

Resources help drive scholarly research and educational innovation. Because endowments provide a stable funding source in perpetuity, these positions open doors to additional areas of support, such as research assistantships, outside collaborations, and external grant funding.

Faculty who hold endowed professorships are at the top of their fields, and students benefit directly from endowments too, as faculty often use funds to elevate the quality and quantity of learning experiences.

So, what are the endowed professorships across the College?

The Daus Family Endowed Professorship in Physician Assistant Studies Arthur Theodore Daus, Jr., MD, of Louisville was an Assistant Professor in the College of Health Sciences for many years, beginning in the early 1980s. He opened a private medical practice in 1965 and helped psychiatry and pain management clients for 37 years. His sons, Dr. Arthur Steven Daus, Arthur Theodore Daus III, and Dr. Kevin Michael Daus, created an endowed scholarship in his honor. This scholarship has already directly impacted numerous PA students in their pursuit of becoming a health care provider. After the endowed scholarship was completed, Dr. Arthur Steven Daus created the endowed professorship.

Virginia Valentin, DrPH, PA-C and Chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, was named to the Daus Family Endowed Professorship in August 2024. “After (Dr. Daus) created the scholarship, he gave us the opportunity to talk about our successes,” she said. “He had confidence in us. It feels like an acknowledgement of our work. It is truly an honor.”

And she has big plans for the endowment.

“We want to build leaders,” she said. “This funding makes it possible. We can send students to present at conferences where they will have the opportunity to meet experts and other student leaders in their area of study. We can also include students and residents in our work with our international partners. Engaging internationally is a transformative experience.”

Ultimately, Valentin wants to achieve a culture of integrating research, innovation and educational excellence in the Physician Assistant Studies Department.

The University Professorship in Health Sciences

Esther Dupont-Versteegden, PhD, is a full professor and director of the Rehabilitation and Health Sciences PhD Program. She holds the endowed University Professorship in Health Sciences, which was created in 2001 to support research in allied health professions.

Dupont-Versteegden uses the funds for research associated with student projects. Students can apply for pilot funding from the professorship for their research by writing a short grant proposal with a detailed budget and an explanation of the need, the significance of their research and the proposed activities.

“The resources from the Professorship have greatly benefitted student research,” Dupont-Versteegden said. “It shows in the number of our students’ publications and conference proceedings.”

Paul A. Thornton Distinguished Professorship and Fellowship

Mr. Mike Thorton established the Paul A. Thornton Distinguished Professorship and Fellowship in 2016 in honor of his father, Dr. Paul Thornton, who led the Clinical Nutrition Program in the College of Health Sciences.

D. Travis Thomas, PhD, RDN, CSSD, LD, FAND, associate professor and program director for Clinical Nutrition, holds the professorship.

“The funds are primarily used to support graduate students pursuing a career in nutritional sciences,” Thomas said. “These students are mentored by CHS Clinical Nutrition faculty and the financial support they receive helps to push the frontiers of their research training and helps our clinical nutrition faculty make innovative advances in their own portfolios of scholarly work.”

Joseph Hamburg Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences

Jack and Linda Gill established the Joseph Hamburg Professorship in Rehabilitation Sciences in 1998. The Professorship was named in honor of the first dean of the College of Health Sciences. Brian Noehren, PT, PhD, FACSM and Associate Dean for Research, holds the professorship.

“Dr. Hamburg was known for bringing professions together in his work to establish the College of Health Sciences,” Noehren said. “Likewise, the professorship in his name is used to support pilot work to build transdisciplinary collaborations throughout campus. I hope that this type of work honors his legacy.”

The funds are used to help support pilot research projects by graduate students and post docs, as well as to help support the testing of cutting-edge ideas to garner the pilot data for larger federal grants. They also help support student travel to conferences to present their research.

Richard McDougall Alumni Professorship

In 2007, the PT Richard McDougall Alumni Professorship was established by alumni, faculty, staff and supporters.

In the mid-1960s McDougall came to the University of Kentucky to start a physical therapy program, and in 1965 he was named the College’s first chair of the Department of Physical Therapy. He served in this role until 1982.

Dr. Patrick Kitzman, PT, PhD, professor in both the Physical Therapy Department and the Rehabilitation Sciences PhD Program, was first appointed to the professorship in 2010.

He has held the role ever since.

“Funds from the PT Richard McDougall Alumni Professorship have been instrumental in our ability to grow and expand our work in the community to meet direct needs of the people of the Commonwealth as well as provide educational training opportunities for students at multiple educational levels,” Kitzman said.