Current Gifts
Endowed chairs and professorships provide support for faculty members at West Texas A&M University. The endowments offer resources for enhanced teaching and learning opportunities that enrich the life of the University and strengthen the foundation of academic excellence.
Endowed Giving Policy.An endowed chair provides the University a valuable tool in recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty. Funds from the endowment allow WTAMU to reward scholarly excellence and encourage research while enhancing program growth and development. An endowed chair is a coveted position that brings prestige and distinction to a college discipline while providing faculty support for research and creative work. It offers opportunities for program growth and development and recognizes scholarly excellence. Endowed chair positions recognize the generosity of donors in perpetuity and serve as a valuable tool in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty members.
$1 million - Endowed Chair
A professorship expands opportunities for exceptional faculty members by providing additional resources for teaching, research and professional activities and development. Faculty members benefit from the coveted title, and students glean from the professor’s academic insight and leadership.
$100,000 - Professorship
The Ross W. Wilson Chair in Chemistry
Dr. Shiquan Tao, Appointment 2011-2013
The Ross W. Wilson Chair in Chemistry is the first endowed chair in the College of Agriculture, Science and Engineering. It was established by gifts from the late Ross W. Wilson, a 1938 graduate of WT, and the estate of Hazel Kelley Wilson to honor both Ora Mae Harris Wilson, a 1938 WT graduate and wife of Ross W. Wilson, and Dr. Charles A. Pierle, who taught chemistry at WT from 1922-1954.
Tao teaches chemistry I and II as well as analytical chemistry and instrumental analysis and advanced analytical chemistry. His research examines the development of fiber optic sensor technologies and applications of fiber optic sensors in environmental monitoring, food safety, disease diagnosis and industrial process monitoring.
Don Williams Professorship of Management
Dr. Andrew Li, Appointment 2010-2013
The Don Williams Professorship of Management honors Don Williams, a distinguished entrepreneur, Plainview community leader and supporter of excellence in education. Williams and the Joachim Foundation established the professorship in February 2010.
Li teaches courses in organizational behavior, human resources management and diversity management. His research interests include motivation at work, personal selection and work-life balance.
The Stanley Schaeffer Professorship of Business Ethics
Dr. Karyn Friske, Appointment 2011-2014
The Stanley Schaeffer Professorship of Business Ethics was established in 2010 by Schaeffer, a distinguished alumnus, business leader and philanthropist, to stimulate academic excellence and enhance an appreciation of ethical leadership for business students at WTAMU.
Friske teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in auditing and accounting, and her research interests include tax shelter issues, accounting ethics and education issues.
The Gene Edwards Professorship of Finance
Dr. Pradeep Racherla, Appointment 2012-2015
The Gene Edwards Professorship of Finance was established by officers and employees of Bank of America in tribute to Edwards as a pioneer in the banking industry. The professorship was established in 1984.
Racherla teaches marketing hospitality and tourism, services marketing and e-commerce. In the area of research, Racherla has interests in consumer-generated media, marketing networks, knowledge management and collaborative systems.
The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Business
Dr. Sean Humpherys, Appointment 2012-2015
The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Business was established in 2010 by Pickens to stimulate academic excellence, enhance creative thought and challenge business students at WTAMU.
Humpherys teaches courses in programming, operations methods and applied management information systems. His current research areas focus on developing theories of information systems to aid in Homeland Security efforts, identifying deception/hostile intent, and identifying financial fraud.
The Phil Gensler Professorship of Computer Information Systems
Dr. Musa Jafar, Appointment 2009-2012
The Phil Gensler Professorship of Computer Information Systems was established in 2007 by friends and former students to honor Dr. Phil Gensler. His 20 years of professional leadership and dedication to students at WTAMU provided exceptional opportunities for graduates in computer information systems.
Jafar teaches courses in object oriented analysis and design, data mining methods, advanced web development in a database environment and database management systems, and his research interest focuses on data visualization and data mining.
The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Management
Dr. Jonathan Shaffer, Appointment 2010-2013
The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Management was established by Pickens in 2010 to stimulate academic excellence, enhance creative thought and challenge business students at WTAMU.
Shaffer teaches principles of management and a course in leadership. His current research project explores abusive leadership, personality and the hiring process.
The James and Mogie McCray Professorship of Business
Dr. Darlene Pulliam, Appointment 2011-2014
The McCray Professorship of Business was funded through a generous donation from James and Mogie McCray of Panhandle. The professorship was established in 2007.
Pulliam teaches numerous courses in accounting including federal income tax accounting and taxation of business entities as well as seminars in accounting theory, tax research and professional accounting. Her research focuses on corporate taxation and tax policy.
The J. Pat Hickman Professorship of Marketing
Dr. De’Arno De’Armond, Appointment 2009-2012
The J. Pat Hickman Professorship of Marketing was established in 2008 by Happy State Bank in honor of J. Pat Hickman for his leadership and spirited entrepreneurial vision.
De’Armond teaches courses in personal finance, risk management, sales management, personal selling and advertising. In the area of research, De’Armond looks at the relationships between marketing, risk management and financial planning.
The Dr. Jerry D. Miller Professorship of Entrepreneurship
Jean Walker, Appointment 2011-2014
The Jerry D. Miller Professorship of Entrepreneurship was established in 2010 by Dr. Jerry Miller, an innovative former dean, to support continued student, faculty and community entrepreneurship activities at WTAMU.
Walker, a Sam Walton Fellow, teaches courses in business finance, financial management, personal financial planning and applications in free enterprise. She is currently researching and writing cases on McDonalds and on micro lending for use in finance classes.
John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education
Dr. Nancy Cartwright, Appointment 2009-2013
The John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education was established in 2008 by members of the John G. O’Brien family, the Amarillo Area Foundation and the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation. The chair honors O’Brien, who instilledin his family a profound dedication to strengthening public school education in the Texas Panhandle. It establishes a collaborative enterprise between WTAMU and the Amarillo Independent School District to create and implement a state-of-the-art professional development school model for teacher preparation—a model designed to ensure WTAMU students are well prepared to successfully teach in 21st century classrooms.
Cartwright is appointed jointly by WTAMU and the Amarillo Independent School District and collaborates with AISD staff to teach with current K-12 teachers. Her courses include an integrated language arts/social studies teaching methodology and classroom management with a secondary focus. She has numerous research interests that include development and support of professional and personal learning communities serving at-risk and first-generation students, social creativity, teacher/student learning action research, engagement or autotelic experiences for diverse learners and cognitive coaching for academic and career efficacy.
The Helen Piehl Professor of Education
Dr. Ashley Campbell, Appointment 2012-2015
The Helen Piehl Professorship of Education was established in December 2008 as a Centennial Leadership Gift from Helen Piehl, the 2007-2008 WTAMU Foundation president.
Campbell teaches science methods and is a member of the Association for Science Teacher Education, the National Science Teachers Association, the Southwest Educational Research Association and the Science Teachers Association. She also serves as co-chairman of the annual Panhandle Area Math and Science Conference at WTAMU.
The Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science
Dr. Dave Rausch, Appointment 2009-2012
The Teel Bivins Professorship of Political Science was announced in 2008 to pay tribute to Ambassador Teel Bivins of Amarillo for his visionary leadership and the many significant contributions he made in the field of political science. The professorship was established through gifts from Bivins’ family, friends and colleagues and the Mary E. Bivins Foundation.
Rausch teaches a number of courses in political science including American state and local governments, social research methods, religion and politics and European parliamentary governments. His research interests range from legislative studies and state and local politics to religion and politics and survey research methods.
The Teel Bivins Professor of American Politics
The Geneva Schaeffer Professor of Education and Social Sciences
Dr. Conn Thomas, Appointment 2012-2015
The Geneva Schaeffer Professor of Education and Social Services was established by distinguished WTAMU alumna and philanthropist Geneva Schaeffer in 2010 to stimulate academic excellence and enhance scholarship, research and instruction for faculty in the College of Education and Social Sciences.
Thomas’s teaching fields and research interests include evidence-based instructional practices in academically diverse classrooms as well as the performance of bilingual and special education students on high-stakes tests.
The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Professorship in Shakespeare Studies
Dr. Jeffrey Doty, Appointment 2009-2012
The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Professorship in Shakespeare Studies was established in 1995 through the generosity of Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 to promote the teaching of Shakespeare at WTAMU, in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle.
In addition to a course in composition, Doty also teaches Shakespeare, British literature to 1800 and comic film and literature.His research interests include literature and the public sphere, early modern theatre and political thought and how Shakespeare’s plays taught audiences forms of political analysis.
The Yvonne Franklin Endowed Chair in Music
Helen Blackburn, Appointment 2012-2015
The Yvonne Franklin Endowed Chair in Music was established in 2008 by James Franklin as a permanent and perpetual tribute to his beloved wife.
Blackburn joins the WTAMU faculty with a distinguished career as a performer and teacher of flute. She htaught at Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas and performed as principle flute with the Dallas Opera Orchestra and the Breckenridge Musical Festival Orchestra. She also is a member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
The Haley Endowed Professor of Western Studies
Dr. Alex Hunt, Appointment 2012-2015
The professorship was established through a generous donation to encourage WTAMU research at the Nita Stewart Haley Memorial Library and the J. Evetts Haley History Center in Midland.
