More than likely, the Carol K. Pforheimer Professorship is an endowed chair named for someone who wanted the university to study something in particular related to health.

It is an endowed chair that affords an academic the opportunity to study/work at the Radcliffe Institute for four semesters before they have to meet the usual professorial responsibilities.

Lots of universities have endowed chairs or professorships that pay some additional stipend to the professor.

Pforzheimer might have been a big donor, or might have been someone else worth of honor (but who wasn’t a donor).

Apparently, she was a rich philanthropist obituary

I thought it was related to some kind of philosophy in nutrition for some reason.