Five endowed faculty positions have been created in the ISU College of Agriculture to be filled during the next two years.

“Endowed chairs and professorships provide us with a special opportunity,” said Wendy Wintersteen, interim dean of the College of Agriculture.

“It’s an added recruitment tool and opportunity to provide resources to faculty so they can be successful.”

Two of those positions, an endowed chair and a professorship, will be in the department of animal science.

“These positions will strengthen the programs here,” said Maynard Hogberg, professor and chairman of the department of animal science. “They will also just elevate our national stature.”

The Jay Lush Endowed Chair in Animal Breeding was established in 2004. Hogberg said this position honors Lush, a faculty member who provided leadership and research of cattle and livestock breeding programs. Hogberg said he expects to appoint someone by July 2006.

The Norman Jacobson Endowed Professorship was established in 2005.

“Alumni put up a challenge grant because of the strong appreciation for all of the help and guidance of Norm Jacobson,” Hogberg said.

He said he plans to appoint someone after the completion of the new dairy farm in the spring or summer of 2007.

Two endowed professorships will be in the department of agronomy and are funded by the ISU Agronomy Endowment.

The George Sprague Professorship was established in 2005. Sprague is considered one of the fathers of modern maize breeding and credited with the discovery of hybrid corn.

An appointment is expected by the spring of 2006, according to a press release sent out by the College of Agriculture.

The Kenneth Frey Professorship was established in 2005 and an appointment is expected in 2006.

Frey is credited for his work on breeding methodology, developing disease resistance in plants and breaking the inverse relationship between yield and protein percentage of cereal grains.

The Robert Buchanan Distinguished Chair in Bacteriology was established in 2003 and will be filled internally in 2006. This position will be placed through a competition between the departments and faculty.

A search committee will conduct an internal search with representatives from several departments in the College of Agriculture.

“The committee will develop a position description based on the Memorandum of Understanding,” Wintersteen said. “Faculty who meet the required qualifications will be encouraged to submit their applications.”

The search committee will review the applications and a recommendation will be given to the dean and provost, who will forward their recommendation to the president who will make the final selection.

“Endowed positions allow us to recruit ‘star’ faculty through research and teaching,” Wintersteen said.

“They will be people who truly have the ability and resources to make scientific breakthroughs and problem-solve to help better Iowa.”