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Policy 2105
Emeritus Faculty

Date of Current Revision: April 2012
Responsible Officer: Executive Assistant to the President

1. PURPOSE

James Madison University recognizes the important contributions to the institution that have been made by those faculty members who rendered many years of dedicated service before retirement. This policy is designed to provide procedures for the appointment of emeritus status for faculty members at the university.

2. AUTHORITY

The Board of Visitors has the authority to enact personnel policies for all employees of the university. Where it has not exercised that authority, it is delegated to the president.

3. DEFINITIONS

Faculty:
For the purposes of this policy, a person who is categorized either as instructional faculty or administrative & professional faculty.

Instructional Faculty:
The members of the faculty who have responsibilities that include teaching, research and service as the majority of their duties. Sometimes referred to as”T&R Faculty”.

Administrative & Professional Faculty:
This is a faculty member whose primary responsibility is management or administration but is not teaching.

4. APPLICABILITY

This policy applies to all emeritus faculty appointments, to include instructional faculty as well as administrative and professional faculty.

5. POLICY

In appropriate cases, retired faculty members may be recognized by the award of emeritus faculty rank.

6. PROCEDURES

6.1 Eligibility for Instructional Faculty
A retired instructional faculty member is eligible for emeritus status if the individual has served full-time for a minimum of 10 years on the James Madison University faculty, has attained the academic rank of Lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor, and has retired in good standing.

Emeritus rank is a privilege and not a right of any retired faculty member.

6.2 Eligibility for Administrative & Professional Faculty
A retired administrative and professional faculty member is eligible for emeritus status if the individual has served full-time for a minimum of 10 years at James Madison University and has retired in good standing.

Emeritus rank is a privilege and not a right of any retired faculty member.

6.3 Posthumous Eligibility
A faculty member may be approved for emeritus status posthumously, whether death is prior to retirement or after. If prior to retirement, the faculty member is eligible for emeritus status if all other criteria, other than retirement in good standing, are met.

6.4 Rank as Emeritus
The emeritus rank will be that held by the faculty member once the written nomination has been approved.

6.5 Privileges
An emeritus faculty member has many of the same rights and privileges to use university facilities and to participate in university activities as an active full-time faculty member. These include the use of recreational facilities, use of the libraries, access to university dining services meal plans, bookstore discounts, a JAC card, an email account, on-campus waiver of tuition, listing in the catalog, and other appropriate publications, and participation in appropriate university events.

Emeritus faculty members do not normally receive remuneration, although they may be hired by the university on a part-time basis for a limited time.

Retiring faculty members who have been granted emeritus status will be eligible for membership in the James Madison University Emeriti Association. They are also eligible to obtain a limited use emeritus parking decal.

6.6 Procedures for appointment
Emeritus appointments are made by the Board of Visitors upon the recommendation of the president. Nominations for appointments to emeritus status are made by the appropriate academic unit head or director to the president through the dean or AVP and the appropriate division head. Recommendations should be accompanied by appropriate supporting data.

6.6.1 When the president has approved the recommendation for instructional or administrative and professional faculty, a letter will be sent to the recipient indicating their designation of emeriti status pending approval by the Board of Visitors.

6.6.2 A copy of this letter will be sent to the Office of the Provost for proper processing.

6.6.3 The Office of the Provost will complete an Affiliate form for the faculty member.

6.7 Duration of appointment Emeritus status is normally granted on a permanent basis. However, emeritus status may be removed by the university for cause at any time.

7. RESPONSIBILITIES

The academic unit head is responsible for nominating a retired faculty member for emeritus status.

For instructional faculty, the dean is responsible for making a recommendation on the nomination for emeritus status to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs are then responsible for making a recommendation on the nomination for emeritus status to the president.

For administrative & professional faculty, the AVP or dean is responsible for making a recommendation on the nomination for emeritus status to the appropriate senior vice president or the Executive Assistant to the President. The senior vice president or the Executive Assistant to the President is then responsible for making a recommendation on the nomination for emeritus status to the president.

The president is responsible for recommending emeritus status for a faculty member to the Board of Visitors.

The Board of Visitors is responsible for granting emeritus status.

8. SANCTIONS

None

9. EXCLUSIONS

This policy does not address the emeritus staff designation. See policy 1318.

10. INTERPRETATION

The authority to interpret this policy rests with the president.

Previous version: April, 2008
Approved by the President: April, 2008

Index of Terms

Emeritus faculty