Duren Professorship
The William L. Duren '26 Professorship was established with a generous endowment from William L. Duren, a distinguished mathematician with a legacy of leadership in higher education. Duren served on the Tulane faculty for over two decades before becoming dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia in 1955. A pioneer in applied mathematics and computer science, Duren saw the college as an indispensable means of fostering intellectual dialogue across schools.
In that spirit, the William L. Duren Jr. ‘26 Professorship is awarded to faculty who present compelling proposals to enrich the intellectual life of the Newcomb-Tulane College community both inside and outside the classroom.
Rooted in curricular innovation, the Duren Professorship supports the development of intellectually engaging, semester-long “dream courses” that will make a lasting impact on students and faculty alike. Duren professors are selected from the faculty based on their commitment to undergraduate teaching, scholarly and artistic achievement and their innovative proposals.
Current Duren Professorship Courses
Professor Adjerid is evolving the biomedical engineering experience by introducing a dynamic, industry-aligned professional sequence tailored to the modern career landscape. This new course offers immersive site visits and direct engagement with industry leaders to bridge the gap between classroom theory and the frontiers of healthcare technology. By transforming the required senior research and professional practice sequence into a personalized launchpad, this course will ensure our graduates arrive ready to lead in their chosen fields.
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Professor Panteri is bringing the foundational concepts of ancient science to life by transforming the classroom into a laboratory of historical innovation. Through an immersive partnership in the Scot Ackerman MakerSpace, students in this course will co-develop working Greco-Roman replicas of revolutionary devices like Archimedes' screw. This interdisciplinary experience culminates in a public exhibition at the Tulane University Special Collections, preparing students across all fields to see the world through the combined lenses of the philosopher and the engineer.
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Additional Details
The Duren Professorship application will launch in fall 2026.
Full-time tenured, tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty in Newcomb-Tulane College’s five undergraduate schools are invited to submit a Duren Professorship proposal.
Team proposals may also be submitted for a professorship grant. Additional funding may be available for a team proposal depending on the scope of the course.
Professorship grants may:
- Arrange for supplemental experiences beyond the classroom that extend and enrich the formal classroom experience, including field work, concert series, lecture series, travel to local archival collections or museums to consult primary materials, etc.
- Adopt a multidisciplinary approach, which may or may not involve team teaching.
- Offer courses of a generalist rather than a highly discipline-specific type, i.e., a general “modes of inquiry” approach or an approach that addresses fundamental, global questions across a range of disciplines.
- Offer courses that demonstrate the applications and extensions of their previous research to new intellectual problems.
- Offer courses that involve an unusual and distinctive pedagogy or an experiential component for which additional resources might be required.
Applications should be accompanied by proposals outlining the proposed course, how the course strategically addresses the Duren Professorship priorities, a timeline for development and a detailed budget. A compelling proposal will explain the importance and impact of each budgeted line on the course.
The application also requires a letter of support from the applicant’s department chair. The letter of support should include a brief summary of how this course supports the priorities of the Duren Professorship. The letter should also confirm that the faculty member’s participation is consistent with the obligations of the applicant’s academic appointment and can be accommodated within the standard teaching load.
Please contact Michael Brumbaugh at meb@tulane.edu or Cathy Marques at cmarques2@tulane.edu with any questions regarding the Duren Professorship.
