The Louisiana Board of Regents approved the reinstatement of the “Support Fund Endowed Professorship” program Wednesday at its monthly meeting.

According to the board’s monthly meeting recap, the program is a “matching donor/state program that allows campuses to receive a $40,000 state match for a donor contribution of $60,000 or more to benefit faculty at public and private institutions across Louisiana.”

It guarantees two professorship matches per eligible four-year campuses and one per eligible two-year campuses.

The Regents voted to suspend new endowed professorships applications in July so the board could review and possibly restructure the program.

According to the recap, private donations have surpassed Endowed Professorships budgets in recent years, leaving 346 professorships unmatched.

The reinstatement went into effect immediately after it was approved.

Commissioner of Higher Education Jim Purcell said he was glad to see the program back up and running.

“We are grateful to the donors who continue to support Louisiana’s colleges and universities and are happy to continue this Support Fund program,” he said.

Board of Regents Chairman Robert Levy said he hopes the reinstated program will be more successful than ever.

“The Board has been thoughtful in its discussions on this important issue and we appreciate the enormous donor support for our campuses,” he said. “We believe today’s actions restart and strengthen the program.”

The Regents will publicly recognize campuses or donors that establish endowed chairs, endowed professorships and endowed undergraduate scholarships.

In other business, the Regents approved a plan to renovate the parking lot of the University Club.

According to the meeting’s agenda, the project will include a new entrance, a reconfigured parking lot and improvements to the landscaping, drainage and lighting in the area.

The project will cost $310,000 and will come from auxiliary funds.