Strengthening Our Faculty

The goal of the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship program is to honor and reward the University of Minnesota’s highest-achieving faculty who recently have attained full professor status—especially those whose careers have developed at the University, whose intellectual work and reputation are identified with Minnesota, and whose work has brought great renown and prestige to the University of Minnesota.

Faculty Development at the University of Minnesota

In 1995, the University of Minnesota Graduate School created the Distinguished McKnight University Professorships. This program is made possible by a generous endowment gift from the McKnight Foundation to the University of Minnesota Graduate School, given in the mid-1980s and matched with a share of the Permanent University Fund resources, for the purposes of supporting faculty development. Originally conceived as a career development plan for outstanding junior faculty, the program was expanded to incorporate this distinguished mid-career faculty award program. The name signifies the importance the University places on this unique public-private partnership.

The University of Minnesota regards the Distinguished McKnight University Professorships as an important component of its University-wide faculty development programs, complementing the Regents’ Professorships for eminent senior faculty, the numerous endowed chairs created through the University’s capital campaign in the 1980s, the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs for retaining the best faculty in critical fields, the McKnight Presidential Fellows for newly-tenured associate professors, and the McKnight Land-Grant Professorships for promising junior faculty.

Program Description

Recipients are honored with the title Distinguished McKnight University Professor, which they hold for as long as they remain at the University of Minnesota. The grant associated with the Professorship consists of $100,000 over five years, to be expended at the recipient’s discretion for research, scholarly, or artistic activities. 

Each year departments are invited to nominate their most outstanding faculty members who have recently achieved full professor status, by an early January deadline. A committee of prominent faculty from across the University selects the winners, based on the following: The merit of the scholarly or creative achievements and their identity with the University of Minnesota; the scope of the national and international reputation; the extent to which the work is distinctive and prestigious, and has developed and flourished at Minnesota; the quality of teaching and advising; and contributions to the wider community. The new winners are presented to the Board of Regents in the spring.

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Faculty Development at the University of Minnesota

In 1987, the University of Minnesota Graduate School established the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, a program of career development awards for junior faculty. The McKnight Land-Grant Professorship was named for a significant endowment gift from the McKnight Foundation that was then combined with a share of the Permanent University Fund (PUF). This Fund, released to the University by the legislature in 1985, came from the original Land Grant to the University. The name of the Professorship emphasizes this public-private partnership.

The program complements other University-wide faculty development programs, including the McKnight Presidential Fellows for newly-tenured associate professors, the Distinguished McKnight University Professorships for outstanding mid-career faculty, the McKnight Presidential Endowed Chairs for retaining the best faculty in critical fields, and the Regents Professorships held by eminent senior faculty.

Program Description

The McKnight Land-Grant Professorship is a two-year appointment that includes a research grant in each of the two years, to be used at the recipient's discretion for expenditures directly related to research and scholarly activities. In addition, each Professor is awarded either a year's leave to pursue research during the second year of the award or a supplementary research grant.

Each year in the fall, every department across the University is invited to nominate its most promising tenure-track assistant professor whose PhD (or comparable degree in professional fields) was earned within the past seven years and whose appointment at the University was begun within the past three years. The nominations are reviewed by a selection committee composed of distinguished faculty from across the University. The recipients are chosen for the significance of the research and the clarity with which it is conveyed to the non-specialist; the degree to which past and present achievements demonstrate originality, imagination, and innovation; the potential for significant contribution to the discipline; the quality of scholarly publications; and the potential for attracting outstanding students. The new winners are presented to the Board of Regents in the spring.

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