UofL Retired Faculty Association

Retired faculty members and the University have a common interest in encouraging continued professional and creative activity and in promoting continued contribution to the University’s teaching, research, institutional, and community missions following retirement. The University often needs skilled and experienced faculty and retired faculty often desire to extend their academic lives. The goal of the Retired Faculty Association is to continue to use seasoned professional talents as long as the exercise of those talents proves beneficial both to the individual and the University program. Deans and Department Chairs are under no obligation to use retired faculty. However, retired faculty can be indispensable to institutional memory and their retrospective views of American academe will often turn out to be as innovative and insightful as those of long-range planners.

The quantity and character of these University-related activities will depend upon the interests of individual faculty members and the needs of particular University programs. Oversight of these academic relationships belongs ultimately with the Office of the Provost. A representative from this office would serve on the Steering Committee.

Retired faculty can facilitate the academic missions of the University’s programs by:

• promoting participation in pertinent research
• teaching in its various forms and
• institutional and community service.

These traditional academic activities tap the immense experience collectively residing in retired faculty.

This collaboration will allow for new constructions of teaching, research, and service in the academy and in the community. Freed of constraints of calendar, budget, and administrative practice associated with full-time employment, both retirees and the institution can explore new approaches to teaching and learning, alternative research designs, and untried service modes—all driven more by the needs they address than by traditional academic demands and disciplinary boundaries. Projects with short timelines, narrow scopes or small audiences would be far more likely to be undertaken. This collaboration would allow retired faculty to have a significant and innovative role in the mission of the University and provide academic units with a readily available source of expertise.

The idea that retirees will do tasks routinely assigned to full and part-time faculty will not work if it is only an accumulation of ad-hoc or individual agreements. Retired faculty need an organization so they can meet regularly to develop a vision about what the University might need from them and what they are willing and capable of doing. This UofL Retired Faculty Association (RFA) will provide the first opportunity for uninterrupted and spontaneous conversation across disciplines for some retirees and reignite longstanding and productive conversations among others. The organization needs to make sure that the University, particularly its students, does not lose access to professors who still want to be a part of the academic life of the campus.

Possible teaching, research and service activities :

Teaching: Mentoring students

Directing theses and dissertations/serving on reading committees

Teaching a course

Directing independent studies

Advising

Mentoring less experienced faculty

Research: Writing and carrying out grants

Continuing contributions to refereed research and publication

Continuing contributions to academic conferences

Mentoring undergraduate and graduate students

Reviewing manuscripts

Working in the laboratory, library and field

Service: Recruiting new faculty and service on hiring committees

Welcoming and aiding in reception of visiting scholars

Serving on administrative search committees

Guest lecturing in and out of the classroom

Reviewing and adjudicating committees

Serving on curriculum committees

Serving as liaison with alumni, students, community groups or agencies

Consulting

Providing accounts of the state of a given discipline and the research upon which it is based

Lecturing to lay audiences

Consistent with encouraging this common interest is supplying the resources retired faculty need to continue their creative activities and make contributions to the University. Some programs will require unique resources, but at a minimum, the following should be universally available to all retired faculty (some are currently available).

The common needs:

• Uniform policies and procedures for appointment to Emeritus faculty
• Reasonable access to campus parking
• E-mail
• Retention on department or program or other important distribution lists
• Inclusion in University general directory and relevant special directories
• Full access to libraries and library services (e.g. Interlibrary loans, faculty borrowing privileges)
• Retired faculty ID card (as distinct from retired personnel ID) which may include building and parking access
• Tuition remission for retired faculty
• Website space through the University
• Office space reasonably appropriate to the work
• Office equipment and supplies reasonably appropriate to the work
• Compensation may take the form of contribution to a research or travel account

Additional needs associated with teaching:

• Compensation at the part-time faculty rate or greater
• Transition to part-time teaching should not require the construction of a new personnel file

Additional needs associated with research:

• Equipment, apparatus, and the like reasonably appropriate to the work

Miscellaneous Privileges:

• Opportunity to use recreational facilities
• Option to be members of the University Club
• Employee rights to athletic events
• Honorary membership in the Alumni Association
• Emeritus faculty should be eligible to serve on department, unit or University committees and vote on matters not pertaining to appointment, promotion and tenure
• Access to flu shots and similar benefits

Implementation Plan

UofL Retired Faculty Association

Overview  

The following pieces are important for implementing the proposal for a UofL Retired Faculty Association (copy attached):

• Housed in the Provost’s Office as its primary function is academic.
• Guided by a Steering Committee – see specifics below
• Preference for staff support to be provided by the Faculty Senate secretary – up to 20% of her time will be utilized in the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 semesters and less thereafter.
• Costs – $7000/year in addition to portion of secretary’s time - see specifics below
• Space – need an office for Chairperson of Steering Committee
• Begin during Fall 2007 semester
• Regularly publicize the activities of the RFA.

Steering Committee

Membership: Nine voting members

Four retired faculty members – two from Belknap and two from Health Sciences

If possible, one of these should be a member of AAUP

Representative from Provost’s Office – at assistant or associate provost level

Full-time faculty member appointed by Executive Committee of Faculty Senate

Faculty representative from the University of Louisville Association of

Retired Personnel

Representative from Development Office

Representative from Human Resources

Suggestions for Steering Committee membership

Recommend involving members of Ad Hoc Committee that proposed UofL Retired Faculty Association as this group has put much time and effort into researching and understanding such organizations and can save the Steering Committee the effort of doing this again

Recommendations:

Tom Van as one of retired faculty representatives

Dennis Hall as full-time faculty representative

Rick Feldhoff & Barbara Wheeler as ex officio members for first year only

Personnel

Chairperson to be elected by Steering Committee from among the four retired faculty members

Reports to Steering Committee and to the Provost

Supervises and works with secretary

Develops and maintains list of retired faculty interested in participating in teaching, research, and service functions

Develops policies and bylaws in consultation with the steering committee

Establishes lines of communication, as appropriate, with Vice Presidents, Deans, and department and program Chairs to relay the goals of UofL RFA and to encourage them to consider opportunities for RFA members to participate in academic teaching, research, and service functions.

Develops RFA website content so to make it a virtual place to bring together university needs and RFA resources

Chairperson to receive some compensation - $5000/year is recommended

Duties will be most intense the first year as initial development is occurring

Secretary - primary duties

Broker information and contacts between administrative officers and retired faculty

Provide technical maintenance of the RFA webpage

Develop and maintain list of active retired faculty

Develop and maintain appropriate electronic distribution lists

These duties should be secondary to Faculty Senate responsibilities

Budget  

$5000/year for chair of Steering Committee

$2000/year for computer, supplies, mailings, etc.

Portion of Faculty Senate secretary’s salary not included in calculation as this person is already employed and paid fulltime.

Evaluation

Evaluate initially at end of 2 years

Thereafter, evaluation every 2 – 3 years

Submitted by:

Rick Feldhoff

Dennis Hall

Tom Van

Barbara Wheeler, Chair

November 30, 2006 , rev. April 12, 2007