These are not established chairs, which are posts funded by endowment for academics with a distinguished career in British and European universities.
However, since there was a limited number of established chairs in these universities and an abundance of distinguished academics it was decided to introduce these Titles of Distinction.
In the 1994–95 academic year, Oxford's Congregation (the university's supreme governing body) decided to confer the titles of Professor and Reader on distinguished academics without changes to their salaries or duties;[1] the title of professor would be conferred on those whose research was "of outstanding quality", leading "to a significant international reputation".
Reader would be conferred on those with "a research record of a high order, the quality of which has gained external recognition".
In 2005, a special task force was set up to report back to the University Council about career progression for academics.