COMMITTEE REPORT OF ADOPTION OF POLICY RECOMMENDATION
(Emeritus Status)
DATE: November 23, 2005
TO: Ron McIntyre, Faculty President
FROM: Personnel Planning and Review Committee
By: Penelope Jennings, Executive Secretary
At its meetings on September 7, 2005 and October 19, 2005, the Personnel Planning and Review Committee considered changes in Section 600 of the Administrative Manual to modify the eligibility requirements for a faculty member to attain Emeritus status. The Committee adopted policy recommendations by passing the following motion on October 19, 2005:
MSP: That Section 650.3.1. be revised as follows:
Section 650.3 Emeritus Status
1. Criteria
Senior tenured members of the faculty who have served a minimum of 10 years, prior to retirement, as full-time tenure track faculty at CSUN and who have retired from active full-time service in the University (including those participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program) may be granted Emeritus status by the President of the University. Former tenured faculty members who have served a minimum of 15 years as full-time tenure track faculty at CSUN may also be granted Emeritus status. Those faculty members participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program may be granted Emeritus status after completing their final semester of teaching service.
The foregoing motion appears as Item No. 3 in the October 19, 2005 minutes. The words, “prior to retirement” in line 2 were added at the suggestion of the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate at their November 17, 2005 meeting to provide further clarification.
Summary of Supporting Reasons:
For a number of years there has been confusion among department chairs, deans, chairs of personnel committees, and other faculty about the timing for the granting of Emeritus status.
In the academy, Emeritus status has traditionally been granted to honor its faculty members who have retired, with an honorary title corresponding to the title held immediately before retirement. As faculty members began to enter the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) a question arose: at what point should otherwise eligible faculty members be recognized as faculty Emeriti – at the time they enter FERP or not until the end of the FERP period?
At its September 7, 2005 meeting, the Committee reexamined the matter of eligibility of FERP faculty members for emeritus status by reviewing the meaning of the honorary title, the impact of changes in Section 600 related to the granting of emeritus status, increasing issues concerning implementation of the current policy, and the role of FERP faculty in the institution.
The Emeritus designation is an honorary title allowing one to retain one’s former position title although one no longer occupies that position and thus, otherwise, would not be able to use a title. Yet, FERP faculty members at CSUN continue to hold a professorship position at the University. The title afforded such faculty of “Professor” continues while the faculty member is in the FERP program. While one holds the title of Professor, there is no need for the additional title of “Professor Emeritus.”
Due to changes in the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement and Section 600 since 1986, FERP faculty are able to play a larger role in the life of the institution. In addition to teaching responsibilities, FERP faculty members now serve on (and even may chair) faculty recruitment committees as well as search and screen committees for academic and other administrators. With recent changes in Section 600 in the last year, FERP faculty may, under certain circumstances, serve on department personnel committees to review faculty in the RTP process. Many of our FERP faculty members serve on faculty governance and other committees and boards. The role is so significant that it is increasingly difficult to view these productive faculty members as “retired.”
As a practical matter, there have been continuing problems with administering policies related to recognition of FERP faculty as Emeritus faculty. Faculty members may file paperwork and inform departments of their intention to FERP. In more than one case, a faculty member has filed FERP paperwork, been recommended for Emeritus status by his or her department, been awarded Emeritus status by the University President, attended the honored Faculty Reception and received Emeritus recognition only to withdraw from the FERP Program the next week or month – and then initiate the process again the following year. Since FERP faculty may be awarded Emeritus status anytime from the entry of FERP until separation from the University, there are several cases each year where departments have submitted late applications for FERP faculty to be recognized as Emeriti, often the result of a last-minute decision by the faculty member to seek Emeritus status that particular year. Faculty members, as well as other members of the campus community, continue to be confused about the meaning of Emeritus status (Is it synonymous with retired? Synonymous with FERP?).
Section 650.3.5 sets forth the rights and privileges of faculty Emeriti. As this section notes, FERP faculty Emeriti do not acquire the rights and privileges of Emeritus status until the end of their FERP service. Thus, the only “Emeritus faculty right” FERP faculty Emeriti enjoy is the right to be referred to as both “Professor” (the current title) and “Professor Emeritus” (the honorary title). It should be noted that if changed, this provision will not be applied retroactively. Thus, those faculty members in the FERP program who have already been granted Emeritus status will continue to have said status and need not be re-nominated upon completion of the FERP Program.
The Committee next considered the number of years required for eligibility for Emeritus status. The Committee concluded that a more appropriate minimum time period is ten years prior to retirement (including retirement by entry into FERP) instead of 15 years – a faculty member could make significant contributions to the institution during ten years of employment. The Committee was also concerned that under the current language, a former tenured faculty member who had served ten years at CSUN could accept a position at another institution and immediately request Emeritus status at CSUN even though he or she had not retired. Under the new language, only those faculty members or former faculty members who retire from the institution may be granted emeritus status. Note: PP&R has interpreted the language in this section to permit consideration of posthumous awards of Emeritus status for faculty members who have served the minimum years for eligibility.
This recommendation is herewith reported to the Faculty President for transmittal, via the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, for final recommendation by the Faculty Senate.