Boston University has announced a $2.5 million gift from an anonymous donor to endow professorships for junior faculty.

The gift will fund University Provost's Career Development Professorships for two junior faculty members working in areas with "the greatest potential for impacting the quality and stature of the university, as determined by the provost." The first professorship, which is focused on advancing the participation and success of women in the area of data science, has been awarded to Jessica Simes, an assistant professor of sociology whose research is based on the mapping of communities to highlight the percentage of incarcerated people in those communities.

BU also announced two other career development professorships. Funded by a gift from the estate of Isabel and Larz Anderson, the inaugural Isabel Anderson Career Development Professorship was awarded to Marcus Bellamy, assistant professor of operations and technology management in the Questrom School of Business. And funded by a gift from BU alumna and board member Ruth Moorman and her husband, Sheldon Simon, to recognize two faculty members engaged in interdisciplinary work in more than one BU school or college, the inaugural Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professorship was awarded to Keith Brown, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences whose research focuses on how the nanostructure of materials affects the way light, heat, electrons, and molecules move through systems.

"Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our alumni and donors, these three new Career Development Professorships are supporting the success of a whole new cohort of talented junior faculty, laying the foundation for important new discoveries in interdisciplinary research, and advancing our understanding of rapidly emerging fields from business to data science," said Jean Morrison, BU provost and chief academic officer. "We are excited for these exceptional young faculty members and the possibilities for their research and teaching in the years ahead."