University Professorships

Stipend: $15,000 | Discipline: Open | Position: Full Professor

The Paula and D.B. Varner University professorship was established in 1986 by the Nebraska University Foundation’s Executive Committee to recognize faculty members with the rank of full professor who has earned distinction as a teacher-scholar and who has demonstrated loyalty to the University through an extended period of distinguished service. The professorship, which carries a $15,000 stipend, is awarded for five-year terms and appointments may be renewed following review in the fifth year.

The professorship was established to honor Paula and D.B. Varner upon Mr. Varner's retirement as chairman of the Foundation. Mr. Varner headed the NU system for seven years before becoming its chief fundraiser. When he arrived in Nebraska from Michigan in 1970 to assume the reins of NU System Administration, the CEO position was titled chancellor. Soon, the title was switched to president. He left that position in 1977 and became chairman of the NU Foundation until his official retirement in 1987.

Stipend: $15,000 | Discipline: Chemistry | Position: Full Professor

The James Hewett University Professorship was established in 1998 by a gift from James and Kathryn Hewett to recognize and provide necessary funding to support a professor in the Chemistry department at UNL. The professorship, which carries a $15,000 stipend, is awarded for five-year terms and appointments may be renewed following review in the fifth year.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from NU and his master’s degree and doctorate from Purdue, James Hewett worked at DuPont for the majority of his career. He believed that his undergraduate professors provided him with thought processes that helped him supervise development projects for products such as Lycra and Nomex fibers. Hewett’s group also developed the composition, structure, and manufacturing process for the hollow filament barriers used in Permasep, a reverse osmosis permeator for water desalination.

Stipend: $15,000 | Discipline: English | Position: Full Professor

The Hillegass University Professorship was established by the Cliffs Charitable Foundation to provide funding for in the English department in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by offering a selected professor an annual salary stipend as well as research and program support.

In 1958, Cliff Hillegass founded Cliffs Notes with a $4,000 loan and a unique idea. He began creating study guides in the basement of his Lincoln home. Almost immediately the guides became a hit and the company grew. His success has continued during the past 40 years. In 1992, the NU Foundation received the first gift from the Cliffs Charitable Foundation. This contribution of $52,000 funded many projects at UNL, ranging from a writing project in the department of English to a scholarship for gymnastics students. Although the Hillegasses gave more than $250,000 to the NU Foundation before the establishment of the Cliffs Charitable Foundation, this gift further symbolized their commitment to education and the University, a commitment that still stands as they serve as NU Foundation trustees.