Emeritus status for retired faculty members

In many cases a retiring faculty member may wish to be granted emeritus status. The chair may recommend emeritus status to the dean, provost, and president based upon the wishes of the department.

To nominate a retired faculty member for emeritus status, the chair prepares a memo addressed to the university president. Include approval lines for dean, provost, and president. It may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to process the request.

According to the faculty handbook, "The honorary title of professor emeritus may be awarded by the president to faculty members who retire with the rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor or professor, who have completed ten years of service to the University, and who are recommended by the chair or a faculty member (s) within the department. Recommendations for emeritus status should be based upon records of teaching excellence, substantive scholar¬ship and meaningful service. The Departments may, if available, provide office space and other support services at their discretion."

In short, the resources provided emeritus faculty members vary considerably across departments, depending on available resources and depending on the expectations of the emeritus faculty member's continuing professional activities and contributions to the department.