Rush University celebrated five esteemed faculty members during a ceremony on March 5, honoring their appointments to endowed professorships. Endowed faculty positions, many made possible by the generosity of philanthropic partners, are the university’s highest honor and demonstrate confidence in and commitment to Rush’s future.
“We are proud to have the opportunity to recognize extraordinary leaders at Rush with these academic professorial appointments,” said Robert S.D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, president and chief academic officer of Rush University, chief clinical and academic officer and senior vice president of Rush University System for Health, and the James A. Campbell, MD, Presidential Chair. “Each of our honorees has been a distinguished member of the faculty. But even more so, they are exemplary role models as mentors, colleagues, professional advocates and academic leaders. It’s an honor to see them appointed to these chairs.”
At the March ceremony, Rush appointed the following faculty members to endowed positions:
- Sharon D. Gates, DSW, to the Catharine and R. Winfield Ellis - Philip N. Jones, MD, Professorship of University Affairs
- Miral D. Jhaveri, MD, MBA, to the Colonel Robert R. McCormick Professorship of Diagnostic Imaging
- Angela M. Moss, PhD, APRN, FAAN, to the Judd and Marjorie Weinberg Presidential Professorship
- Steven K. Rothschild, MD, to the Roger C. Bone, MD, Presidential Professorship of Rush University
- Barbara A. Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN, to the Nurses Alumni Association Professorship of Health and Aging
Including the five recent appointments, Rush University has 104 endowed faculty positions, which are critical to the university’s vision. The endowments provide financial resources in perpetuity to fuel the work of leading faculty and support efforts to recruit and retain world-renowned experts dedicated to improving health for all.
“During these uncertain times, the generous investment and belief in the scientific mission of discovery to benefit health for all at Rush is more critical than ever,” said Christine M. Kennedy, PhD, RN, FAAN, the John L. and Helen Kellogg Dean of Rush University College of Nursing and interim provost and vice president of Rush University. “The donors who support our endowed chairs, professorships and scholars signal to the world that they value and believe in investing in people who make the world a place for healing.”
The Catharine and R. Winfield Ellis - Philip N. Jones, MD, Professorship of University Affairs was established in 1988 to recognize the importance of the patient-physician bond upon which Rush University Medical Center was built. In honoring their friend and physician, the Ellis family directed this gift to bolster financial assistance for future health care providers educated at Rush University, with preference given to students in the College of Nursing and Rush Medical College.
"We thank the Ellis family for having the vision to provide for future generations of Rush students by giving them the resources they need to focus on their academic journey, relieving them of the stress of balancing their lives financially,” Gates said.
The Colonel Robert R. McCormick Professorship of Diagnostic Imaging was established by the Robert R. McCormick Charitable Trust in 1989 before the trust was divested in 2008. It is now the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which remains committed to supporting Rush.
"I’m honored to uphold the legacy of the Colonel Robert R. McCormick Professorship — advancing innovation, education and patient care through the power of imaging,” Jhaveri said. “I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the McCormick Family Foundation, whose generosity has made this professorship possible. Their commitment to advancing medical research and education ensures that we will continue to push the boundaries of diagnostic imaging, ultimately enhancing patient health.”
The Judd and Marjorie Weinberg Presidential Professorship was created by Judd Weinberg in honor of his late wife, Marjorie, in support of the advancement of clinical care and research at Rush. It will support Moss in the continued development and testing of different models of care for individuals and communities in Chicago and across the United States.
“I am honored to receive the Judd and Marjorie Weinberg Presidential Professorship appointment and humbly accept it on behalf of my nursing colleagues and everyone who has supported me along the way,” Moss said. “I pledge to use this endowment to continue advancing nursing innovation while providing holistic health care to communities in need. It is my sincere goal to inspire future generations of nurses to carry this work forward while making a lasting impact on the field I hold dear.”
The Roger C. Bone, MD, Presidential Professorship of Rush University honors the legacy of Bone’s dedicated service to Rush as a physician, educator and leader. The endowment supports the advancement of medical and scientific research at Rush University.
“Dr. Bone was an outsized force in Rush’s history as a clinician, educator and researcher, and I am grateful to his family and colleagues who created this fund to advance medical science,” Rothschild said. “The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine looks forward to using these funds to support projects that identify innovative approaches to improve community health, advance preventive services in primary care practice, and help extend outstanding care into Chicago’s West and South Sides.”
The Nurses Alumni Association Professorship of Health and Aging was established by its namesake association, nursing faculty and friends to provide financial support to nurses for research, education and the development of strategies to keep people healthy as they age.
“As an alumna of Rush University College of Nursing, I am proud to hold this professorship created and sponsored by the Nurses Alumni Association,” Swanson said. “I will apply the funds to assist the College of Nursing in fulfilling its mission to champion health equity within education, practice and scholarship.”
