At the Kellogg School, academic excellence is paramount. Such an unparalleled curriculum would be impossible to deliver, of course, without the professors who ensure that a Kellogg education is absolutely world-class. All Kellogg faculty are experts in their respective fields; however, there are more than 70 elite professors upon whom the school has bestowed its highest academic honor: an endowed chair.

Endowed chairs acknowledge a professor's accomplishments in both the business world and in academia. They are also an investment in the Kellogg School's future, as the donors of these chairs understand that their generosity will be recognized in perpetuity while helping Kellogg attract and retain top professors.

An example of how a gift used to create an endowed chair can bolster thought leadership at Kellogg involves Professor Emeritus Louis Stern, who holds the John D. Gray Distinguished Chair. This chair, in the Marketing Department, was established in 1983 in honor of Mr. Gray, chairman emeritus of Hart, Schaffner & Marx (now Hartmarx). Mr. Gray joined the firm in 1945 and worked his way through the company to become president and then director and a member of the executive committee. During his tenure, company sales increased four-fold and earnings increased more than five-fold.

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It is appropriate that the John D. Gray Distinguished Chair be filled by a professor whose dedication and experience matches that of Mr. Gray. Professor Stern joined the Northwestern University faculty in 1973. A world-renowned marketing expert, he has served as chairman of the Marketing Department at Kellogg and as executive director of the Marketing Science Institute in Cambridge, Mass. Professor Stern has completed visiting professorships at both the Harvard Business School and the Haas School of Business at The University of California, Berkeley.

Stern's influential articles have appeared in a variety of marketing, legal and behavioral science journals. His many accolades include the 1986 Paul D. Converse Award from the American Marketing Association for "outstanding contribution to theory and science in marketing." In 1989, he was named "Marketing Educator of the Year" by Sales and Marketing Executives-International, and in 1990 he received the same honor from the Sales and Marketing Executives of Chicago. He was voted the 1992 "Outstanding Professor of the Year" by Kellogg students and six times has received the "Outstanding Professor Award for Electives" from the Kellogg Executive Master's Program. In addition, he was selected as winner of the American Marketing Association/Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award in 1994, which is "the highest honor a marketing educator can receive." Also that year, he was named as one of the 12 best teachers in U.S. business schools by BusinessWeek magazine. And in June 1999, he was the first recipient of the Kellogg School's Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence.

The Kellogg School's ability to attract and retain such outstanding faculty is due, in part, to the vision and generosity of donors who endow a chair.

"As one looks at various business schools, there is little doubt that Kellogg is in the forefront of academic research leading to breakthrough ideas," said Homi Patel, chairman and CEO of Hartmarx. "This research-based approach is invaluable in improving the school's reputation and the desirability of its graduates. Such insights are also critical for businesses who want to stay competitive in this global environment."

Through gifts that endow academic chairs, professors can perform groundbreaking research that keeps the Kellogg School in the very top ranks of management education by spurring continuous innovation and academic rigor combined with practical relevance.