Alma College announces Endowed Chair in English

JORDAN FOX
COPY EDITOR

3/10/2025

Alma College announced the Joseph J. Zimmerman (‘61) Endowed Chair in English in February 2025. Zimmerman is recognized as “one of the college’s most generous benefactors.” 

The endowed chair totals to $1.5 million and will fund a permanent position for “an esteemed faculty member in English who demonstrates a distinguished record of academic excellence and enriches the institution’s history.” The first award will be given to either an existing faculty member at Alma College or a new faculty member in the 2025-26 academic year. 

“This contribution will help secure the college’s traditionally strong liberal arts program: grounded in the humanities and preparing students for lifelong learning and leadership within a wide array of vocations,” said Sean Burke, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. 

The University of Texas at Dallas describes endowed chairs as “opportunities… to attract and retain distinguished professors who will enhance students’ academic experiences and the reputation of the University. Endowed positions recognize outstanding faculty, acknowledge their professional standing and provide support for the conduct of scholarly work and research.” 

The award “[recognizes] the continued contributions of senior-level faculty as well as [provides] funds to push the frontiers of their scholarship… The funds can propel research, help pay student workers or create opportunities for collaboration with scholars around the world.” 

This endowed chair, however, is significant because Alma College has so few of these funds. In fact, the Joseph J. Zimmerman Endowed Chair in English is only the second in the school’s history, following the Reid-Knox Chair of American History that was created all the way back in 1992. 

The Reid-Knox Chair of American History was awarded to Liping Bu, Reid Knox Professor and Chair of American History, and has supported her position on the Alma College faculty. 

“It impacts the college on lots of levels. This will help elevate our status as an institution, to very clearly demonstrate that we recognize the Department of English and the work that’s happening in educating our students,” said Robert Murray, Vice President for Advancement. 

“From a financial perspective, it’s very helpful – a $1.5 million gift. The important thing to know is that… [the] gift will go into our endowment and will be there permanently because we only do a 5% draw from that, so we’ll never cut into to principle or the corpus of that endowment… All of these endowed funds are designed to last in perpetuity and to continue to grow,” said Murray. 

The creation of the endowed chair follows Zimmerman’s passing in 2017. Zimmerman received his bachelor’s in history from Alma College along with a double minor in French and Economics. Afterwards, he received a degree in law from the University of Michigan. 

Zimmerman worked in his hometown of Traverse City, Mich. as an attorney and had the opportunity to serve as an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan. He was also very active in his community, being involved in the Traverse Area Industrial Fund, the Traverse City Fire and Police Department Retirement System, and Traverse City Light and Power. 

This is a huge investment for the English department and signifies the importance of liberal arts on the Alma College campus. The college hopes to continue working closely with alumni and other donors to continue to create more opportunities like this in the future.