The Future of Endowed Chairs in Academic Medicine

Abstract

As the landscape of philanthropy changes following the COVID-19 pandemic, this commentary considers the future of endowed chairs in academic medicine in the light of articles by Thorndyke and colleagues and by Chin-Hong and colleagues in this issue. The authors evaluate the traditional allocation of endowed chairs, which can attract and retain talented faculty and can support focused research far into the future, while other gifts may support more timely concerns, but over a shorter term. The authors weigh the benefits and challenges of Please see the end of this article for information about the authors.