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Vreeland, Gatchel among those honored at endowed professor installation
Robert Gatchel knows firsthand how private philanthropic support can fuel discovery.
A foremost authority on the effects of chronic pain on the mind and body, Dr. Gatchel holds the Nancy P. and John G. Penson Endowed Professorship in Clinical Health Psychology.
“This professorship is a great honor, and it helps me conduct research in the important clinical health psychology field,” he says. “It’s also a great legacy because it recognizes the interest of Nancy and John Penson in this area.”
The Pensons’ daughter, Ann Penson Vreeland, established the professorship in 2007 to honor her parents and to support UT Arlington’s Psychology Department. Dr. Vreeland was a student of Gatchel’s when he taught at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
They were among the donors and faculty members recognized in April at the inaugural Endowed Chair and Professor Installation in College Park Center. UT Arlington has 41 chairs and professorships that are fully established or in process, with three more pledged through bequests. Their market value approaches $27 million.
“Our talented and dedicated researchers and educators are thriving because of the ardent support of donors and friends who share our vision of a Tier One university,” Provost Ronald Elsenbaumer says. “It’s impossible to quantify the positive impact that endowed positions like these have on UT Arlington’s reputation as we approach the status of a national research university.”
Funding levels for endowed faculty positions range from $250,000 for a professorship to $3 million for a distinguished university chair. See uta.edu/giving for information on creating an endowment.
