Choi Alex, Haystead Alice, Thompson Camryn, Kundu Anita, Stinnett Sandra S, Vajzovic Lejla, Fekrat Sharon
Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, USA.
Cureus. 2025 Jun 10;17(6):e85716. doi: 10.7759/cureus.85716. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Over the last several decades, the number of women in ophthalmology has gradually increased. However, studies have demonstrated that far fewer women than men are represented in senior leadership positions. Having an endowed chair facilitates career influence through support for research, service, and teaching activities and is considered one of the most prestigious academic awards that an institution for a faculty member can grant. We explore the relationship between endowed chair status and a variety of characteristics among ophthalmology faculty at 41 major institutionsacross the United States (U.S.).
All 41 ophthalmology hospitals listed in 2022 Best Hospitals for Ophthalmologywere included. Endowed chair status, gender, number of academic titles, rank of institution, region of the U.S., graduate degree, professor status, and ophthalmic subspecialty were collected using publicly available information. Univariable analysis compared the odds of having an endowed chair for subgroups of the studied variables. Multivariable logistic regression determined the odds of having an endowed chair after controlling for other variable effects.
A total of 860 (38%) women and 1,402 (62%) men ophthalmologists were identified. Of these, 246 (10.9%) carried endowed chair titles, of whom 59 (24%) were women. On univariable analysis, being male (p<0.001), greater number of titles (p<0.001), location in the South (p<0.001), PhD degree (p=0.026), full professor status (p<0.001), and uveitis/retina specialization (p<0.001) had significant associations with endowed chair status. Compared with comprehensive ophthalmologists, most ophthalmic subspecialists had greater odds of endowed chair status (p<0.05). On multivariable analysis, all variables had a significant association with endowed chair status (p<0.001) except for gender (p=0.111).
After controlling for other variables, holding two or more additional titles, location in the South, PhD degree, uveitis/retina specialization, and holding a full professorship were significantly associated with greater odds of holding an endowed chair across U.S. academic ophthalmology institutions. Gender had a significant association with endowed chair status on univariable but not multivariable analysis; however, more men than women had characteristics that this study found to be associated with endowed chair status.
在过去几十年里，眼科领域的女性人数逐渐增加。然而，研究表明，担任高级领导职位的女性远少于男性。拥有冠名教授职位有助于通过支持研究、服务和教学活动来扩大职业影响力，被认为是机构授予教职员工的最具声望的学术奖项之一。我们探讨了美国41家主要机构的眼科教职员工的冠名教授职位状况与各种特征之间的关系。
纳入了2022年最佳眼科医院名单中的所有41家眼科医院。使用公开信息收集冠名教授职位状况、性别、学术头衔数量、机构排名、美国地区、研究生学位、教授身份和眼科亚专业等信息。单变量分析比较了研究变量各亚组拥有冠名教授职位的几率。多变量逻辑回归确定了在控制其他变量影响后拥有冠名教授职位的几率。
共识别出860名（38%）女性眼科医生和1402名（62%）男性眼科医生。其中，246人（10.9%）拥有冠名教授头衔，其中59人（24%）为女性。单变量分析显示，男性（p<0.001）、头衔数量更多（p<0.001）、位于南部地区（p<0.001）、拥有博士学位（p=0.026）、正教授身份（p<0.001）以及葡萄膜炎/视网膜专科（p<0.001）与冠名教授职位状况有显著关联。与综合眼科医生相比，大多数眼科亚专科医生拥有冠名教授职位的几率更高（p<0.05）。多变量分析显示，除性别外（p=0.111），所有变量均与冠名教授职位状况有显著关联（p<0.001）。
在控制其他变量后，在美国学术眼科机构中，拥有两个或更多额外头衔、位于南部地区、拥有博士学位、葡萄膜炎/视网膜专科以及担任正教授与拥有冠名教授职位的几率显著更高相关。在单变量分析中性别与冠名教授职位状况有显著关联，但在多变量分析中并非如此；然而，拥有本研究发现与冠名教授职位状况相关特征的男性多于女性。
