The School of the Environment is pleased to announce two new endowed professorships beginning in fall 2025. Director Kevin Feris is the inaugural Patrick Cavanaugh Endowed Professor for the School of the Environment and Department of Geosciences Chair Dorsey Wanless is the inaugural Dr. Kenneth M. Hollenbaugh Endowed Professor in Economic Geology.
Endowed professorships are prestigious faculty positions permanently funded by a donation. They strengthen Boise State University, support critical research and create opportunities for students. Both new endowed professorships in the School of the Environment are supported by the generosity of Patrick Cavanaugh, a Boise State alum who earned his Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1975. Cavanaugh went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Montana and pursue a distinguished career in mineral exploration.
The Dr. Kenneth M. Hollenbaugh Endowed Professorship in Economic Geology pays tribute to an influential Boise State faculty member from Cavanaugh’s time as a student. Although currently occupied by Wanless, the position will support the hiring of a full-time faculty member specializing in economic geology. This professor will study valuable materials from the Earth, like metals and minerals, and train the next generation of students who might follow in Cavanaugh’s footsteps.
In addition to supporting Feris, the Patrick Cavanaugh Endowed Professor for the School of the Environment will support funding for students’ environmental research projects. The school has already solicited applications from students across the university for a $5,000 research award, all thanks to funding from the endowed professorship.
“This gift is a very tangible and amazingly generous expression of a belief in the mission and vision of the school,” Feris said. “It means we’re pointing ourselves in the right direction.”