Iowa State’s College of Business has received its first professorship for the management information systems program.

The professorship was established through a $250,000 gift from the Union Pacific Foundation, matched with an equal commitment from ISU.

“This gift continues the long-term relationship between Union Pacific and Iowa State,” said Darlynn Herweg, director of the Union Pacific Foundation and Contributors, in a press release. “We share a mutual interest in many of Iowa State’s programs, and the graduates we’ve recruited have been our most valuable employees.”

College of Business Dean Benjamin J. Allen said the professorship will provide more opportunities for competitive research.

“This professorship is pivotal in our education and research efforts for this rapidly changing area,” Allen said in the press release. “It will provide a competitive edge over our peer institutions to recruit a distinguished information systems scholar.”

The new professorship holder will primarily link ISU’s management information systems major with “real world” practice, Allen said.

The relationship with the foundation has provided ISU with financial support to initiate scholarships in conjunction with the professorship, named the Union Pacific/Charles B. Handy Professorship in Accounting.

This summer, Union Pacific will also be providing funding for the renovation of the college’s accounting suite.

The $250,000 gift from Union Pacific is the most recent gift made toward Campaign Destiny.

The university campaign’s five-year goal of reaching $300 million is very close — as of March, the campaign had exceeded $242.6 million.