Joe Savoie, left, Louisiana commissioner of higher education, gives a check for matching funds to a pleased Scott Cowen, Tulane University president. The funds make possible new Tulane faculty positions. (Photos by Paula Burch-Celentano)

Winslow J. Chadwick Sr. (from left), Georgia DuPre Chadwick and Kenneth K. Chadwick are honored by Scott Cowen and Jane Parker, associate dean of social work. The Chadwicks are relatives of the late Shirley Kurzweg Gouaux, who established the Dr. Paul Henry Kurzweg Endowed Chair in Social Work in memory of her brother.

Tulane University has received $1.64 million in matching funds from the Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education for new faculty positions. The funds were awarded in a ceremony on Thursday (Sept. 6), at the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life on the uptown campus.

Contributions from private donors, together with the matching funds provided by the state, will finance two endowed chairs (one $1-million chair and one $2-million chair) and 11 endowed professorships at Tulane. The money is part of $15.9 million in matching funds being distributed to public and private colleges and universities across the state this year.

Checks to Tulane and other New Orleans-area colleges and universities were presented by Joseph Savoie, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education, who is making campus visits across the state to present matching funds checks.

Attending the ceremony at Tulane were senior leadership from Tulane University, Loyola University of New Orleans, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, the University of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana, Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Elaine P. Nunez Community College. Also in attendance were many of the private donors contributing to the establishment of endowed faculty posts at these institutions.

"I want to thank the Board of Regents, the legislature and the governor, because without their vision and their support, an event like this would never happen," said Tulane University President Scott Cowen. "What makes universities great are not bricks and mortar, it's the people at those institutions. After Hurricane Katrina, I think every one of us would say the highest priority we have at our institutions is our ability to retain and attract high-quality faculty.

"And without the magnificent generosity of all the donors, we wouldn't be here either," Cowen said. "Your generosity is the lifeblood of our institutions -- it is your generosity that helps our institutions continue to grow and develop, and certainly recover from Katrina."

Savoie added, "Today's intent is really about making sure these institutions are strong and vibrant and moving forward, so New Orleans can move forward and so that Louisiana can move forward."

The grants presented to Tulane include:

• Endowed chair awards for the Lila L. and Douglas J. Hertz Endowed Chair in Psychology and the Paul Henry Kurzweg Endowed Chair in Social Work.

• Endowed professorship awards for the Adams Family Professorship in Science and Engineering, the Ken and Ruth Arnold Professorship in Science and Engineering, the Ken and Ruth Arnold Professorship in Earth and Ecological Sciences, two Edward Austin Professorships in Business Administration, the William B. Burkenroad, Jr. Clinical Professorship in Equity Research, the George Denegre Early Professorship in Law, the Felder-Fayard Early Career Professorship in Law, the Irv Lavalle Professorship in Business, the Catherine D. Pierson Endowed Professorship at Tulane University Law School, and the Stepping Stone Foundation Early Career Professorship in Cellular and Molecular Biology.