Willa Cather & Charles Bessey Professorships

The professorships recognize two individuals associated with the early University of Nebraska. Willa Cather, a University of Nebraska alumna and winner of the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for her novel "One of Ours," is widely recognized as one of America's premiere authors. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln holds a large scholarly archive of Cather's writings, letters and other items; is home to the digital Willa Cather Archive; and numerous UNL scholars are engaged in ongoing scholarship concerning Cather and her works.

Charles Bessey, an NU professor at the turn of the 20th century, was a botanist and educator. Bessey joined the faculty in 1884 and served as Chancellor from 1888 to 1891 and again from 1899 to 1900. Recognized for his pioneering science, including among other interests the ecology of the prairie, Bessey served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and editor of Science magazine.