The College of Journalism and Mass Communications invites applications for two endowed professor positions. Both the William H. Kearns Chair in Journalism and the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Professor in Journalism are available in Fall 2025.
Eligibility for consideration is open to all full-time tenured, tenure-track and professor of practice faculty who do not already hold a named professorship. Applicants must have demonstrated exceptional overall performance over an extended time frame and their accomplishments must have gained significant recognition beyond the University. Overall evaluation criteria will include past work, along with future plans/projects with the funding. Specific criteria will be outlined below.
These professorships will be awarded for a term of up to five years, and faculty can reapply (after re-application and recommendation) for additional terms. Both will carry a $5,000 annual salary stipend and $5,000 annually in professional development funds (for costs such as participant incentives, travel, or training workshops). During each year the professorship is held, recipients are required to give a presentation on UNL’s campus. Recipients are also required to provide an annual report on their activities to the Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Affairs.
CoJMC faculty may apply for either or both professorships. Applications are due by Oct. 30, 2025, end of day. The term will run from Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2030, although professors of practice who receive the professorship will have their term dictated by their contract parameters. No more than one faculty member will be selected for each professorship.
The same project can be used for both professorships, although the letter of interest must adhere to the call/criteria for the professorship, as noted below. Applicants cannot be awarded both professorships.
Applications will be reviewed by the professorship review committee, made up of three faculty members outside the college who hold senior-level appointments or endowed chairs. The committee will be facilitated by CoJMC Associate Dean of Research & Faculty Affairs. The professorship review committee may recommend no more than one person for consideration and final selection by the dean. The committee may choose not to recommend anyone, if the committee judges that the nominees do not meet the award criteria.
Required nomination materials for the Kearns Chair in Journalism:
- Application letter (no more than three pages): Formal letter outlining why the faculty member should be considered and any meritorious accomplishments that qualify the nominee. This letter should include a discussion of the following criteria required for the professorship:
- Scholarly ability and accomplishments
- Academic promise and general trajectory for the next five years
- Any relevant teaching ability and accomplishments
- How the applicant would plan to use the available 10 hours per week as a graduate assistant, which could be either a teaching or research assistant.
- Current curriculum vitae
- Two-page proposal: outlining what the candidate intends to accomplish and how they will use the funds over the five-year term.
- If this application is for renewal of the professorship, the candidate must include a final page outlining their activities over the course of the prior five-year term.
Required nomination materials for the Hitchcock Professor in Journalism:
- Application letter (no more than three pages): Formal letter outlining why the faculty member should be considered and any meritorious accomplishments that qualify the nominee. This letter should address the following criteria required for the professorship:
- Scholarly ability and accomplishments
- Academic promise and general trajectory for the next five years
- Journalistic credentials or media-related background
- Any relevant teaching ability and accomplishments
- Current curriculum vitae
- Two-page proposal: outlining what the candidate intends to accomplish and how they will use the funds over the five-year term.
- If this application is for renewal of the professorship, the candidate must include a final page outlining their activities over the course of the prior five-year term.
All applications should be submitted here by the end of the day on Oct. 30, 2025. Please note that you MUST SUBMIT separate applications to be considered for both. Those who do not address the review criteria noted for each will not be considered by the committee.
