University of California San Francisco
UCSF School of Medicine UCSF Medical Center

Academy Endowed Chair Program

Larissa Thomas, MD

Overview

The Academy of Medical Educators Endowed Chair Program is a portfolio of endowed chairs in education to support teaching excellence, educator careers, creativity, and dissemination.  These term-limited chairs intend to allow talented Academy members to expand their impact as educators at UCSF and beyond by providing a source of discretionary funding for their use.

Endowed Chair Program Goals

  1. To support teaching excellence, career development, and professional identity as an educator for the chairholder and expand their impact at UCSF and beyond.
  2. For the chaiholder to help develop the next generation of educators.
  3. For the chairholder to serve as liaison between their department, the School of Medicine, and the Academy.
  4. For the chairholder to use this discretionary income to pursue new “value-added” educational work beyond specific roles in education, such as serving as a course or clerkship director.
  5. To promote the AME values of community, diversity, advocacy, service, and innovation.

History

Guided by the vision of the former dean of the UCSF School of Medicine, Haile T. Debas, the Academy of Medical Educators facilitated the establishment of a portfolio of matched department- and Academy-based endowed chairs Academy Endowed Chair Program was launched in 2001:

  •  Twenty matched endowed chairs were established with $250,000 from the School of Medicine’s Dean's Office and at least $250,000 in academic departmental funding 
  •  Three Academy-based chairs established with School of Medicine funds and philanthropy
  •  One Academy-based chair that supports the Academy Director position established through philanthropy
  • More than $10 million has been committed to this program since its inception
Matched and Academy-based Endowed vhairs

urrent Endowed Chairholders

Endowed Chair Appointment Process

Academy endowed chair holders are selected through a competitive search and appointed for a five-year term. To support fair and equitable use of resources, most of the endowed chairs are limited to a single term.  

Eligibility

Eligible faculty are identified as part of a pre-search process and included in the call for applications.

Full Eli8gibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
  • Academy endowed chairholders may not concurrently hold more than one chair.
  • Academic leadership positions, such as department chair, or administrative positions, such as associate dean or health systems leader.
  • The division chief or vice chair of education may be ineligible, as determined by the Academy director and department chair (for matched endowed chairs) or the SOM vice dean of education (for Academy-based chairs), with consideration for the fair and equitable use of resources.
How Can I Apply

Peter Chin-Hong

Application Timeline

October
Pre-Search Process

December
Call for applications sent to the eligible candidates.

February
Submission deadline

April
The appointment decision is made
All applicants are informed of the decision

May - June
Orientation of the new chairholder(s)

Chair Application Process

Chairholder Expectations

Chairholder Review Process

Miod-term Review
  • Occurs in the third year of the chairholder’s term
  • The chair holder provides a written mid-term report
  • \Input from AME director, SOM Vice Dean for Education and department chair (MEC)
  • Mid-term review goals
    • Endowed chair holder to share their growth as an educator and accomplishments to date, any challenges, and focus for the remainder of the term
    • Leaders to provide feedback and support for the successful tenure of the chair and confer about the sustainability of the work after the chair
  • Oversight to ensure funds are being spent 
     
Stewardship Review
  • A fifth-year stewardship review is required at the end of the chair holder’s term.
  • The chair holder provides a written stewardship report
  • The stewardship of the chair is formally reviewed by a stewardship/search committee with a recommendation to the SOM Dean

Impact

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the (matched endowed education) chair – it has allowed me to be creative during a time of significant administrative and professional challenge. The space to imagine, envision, and build has been invaluable to me both professionally and personally.
Matched Endowed Chairholder, Mid-term Review
 

Chin-Hong P, Loeser H, Peterson A, Ramachandran R, O'Sullivan PS. Impact of an Innovative Endowed Chair Program on Medical Educator Recipients. Acad Med. 2022 Nov 1;97(11):1650-1655. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004599. Epub 2022 Jan 18. PMID: 35044975.

This study aimed to assess the impact on faculty members who received an endowed chair for education. The authors conducted qualitative interviews with chairholders from the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine who had completed at least one 5-year term. The results showed that receiving an endowed chair had significant symbolic value, indicating quality and increasing visibility and status within the institution and externally. Chairholders reported that the resources provided by the endowed chair allowed them flexibility to pursue valuable activities for themselves, their mentees, and the organization. Holding the chair also facilitated professional development for both the chairholder and others. The impact of receiving an endowed chair extended beyond the term and led to increased visibility and opportunities in education. This study highlights the importance of endowed chairs for career development in education and institutional enhancement.

A Model of Impact

Poncelet A, Collins S, Fiore D, Rosenbluth G, Loeser H, Sawaya GF, Teherani A, Chang A. Identifying Value Factors in Institutional Leaders' Perspectives on Investing in Health Professions Educators. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e2256193. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.56193. PMID: 36795413; PMCID: PMC9936339.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the value factors that health professions leaders placed on educator investment programs, including intramural grants and endowed chairs. The study used semi-structured interviews with 29 leaders from UCSF and its affiliated systems. The results identified value factors across five domains: individual, financial, operational, social or societal, and strategic or political. Individual factors emphasized the impact on faculty career and development, while financial factors highlighted the importance of these investments as inputs rather than outputs. Operational factors focused on educational programs and faculty recruitment, while social and societal factors emphasized scholarship and dissemination benefits. Strategic and political factors highlighted the impact on culture, innovation, and organizational success. These findings suggest that health sciences and health system leaders find value in funding educator investment programs beyond direct financial returns and that these programs can inform program design and evaluation for future investments.

Value Domains and Identified Value Factors

UCSF does not use race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories in the selection process.