The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSC-H) establishes endowments to fund academic positions, scholarship programs, loan funds, and other educational activities upon receipt of donations to the university for those purposes.
An endowment is a fund established with money received from a restricted gift in which the principal or corpus is not expended. The interest derived at the current payment rate is used annually to fund the endowment. Permanent endowments will be established at a minimum funding level of $10,000. Negotiations concerning the establishment of an endowment must be approved by the UTHSC-H president through the Development Office and the appropriate dean.
All endowments must be accepted by the Board of Regents. Approval by the Board of Regents is required before an endowment is established or announced.a
There are six categories of endowed and named academic positions; they are shown below with minimum funding levels required to establish the positions:
Funding of endowments may occur by pledge, within a given time frame not to exceed five years, with 20 percent of the minimum funding level to initiate the endowment.
The donor of scholarship and loan funds working with the Development Office determines how the gift is to be used.
Quasi-endowment funds function as endowments as a result of a determination by the Board of Regents that these funds are to be retained and invested. They differ from endowments in that the Board of Regents can, at its discretion, return these funds to current funds.
Prior to any formal discussion of an endowment, anyone associated with the UTHSC-H should contact the Development Office to facilitate and expedite the proposed endowment, to ensure compliance with policies and rules, and to request a Project Funding Request Form. This form must be completed and signed by the department chair, dean, the executive vice president for academic affairs, the vice president for development and university relations, and the president, in that order.
Before establishing the endowment fund, the donor, and the Development Office should agree on the terms of the endowment, any restrictions required by the donor(s), and the method of administration. A written agreement is required to serve as the donative instrument.
Gifts to establish endowed and named academic positions must be accepted by the Board of Regents. This is achieved through formal request and recommendation by the president of the UTHSC-H to the Office of the Chancellor.
The development officer of stewardship coordinates for the president all correspondence with the UTHSC-H to request approval for establishing new endowed and named academic positions. For further assistance, contact the development officer of stewardship at 500-3200.
aBoard of Regents, UT System, Rules and Regulations, Series 60202, Endowed Academic Positions; Current Appropriations Act.
Updated 2/01; 08/07