Faculty Retirement: Best Practices for Navigating the Transition

by Jean McLaughlin (Editor), Ricardo Palleja Herrera (Editor), Claire Van Ummersen (Editor), Lotte Bailyn (Foreword by)

Overview

This book addresses the critical and looming issue of retirement in higher education as the cohort of boomer generation faculty come to the close of their careers. On the one hand institutions need to replenish themselves, and so need older employees to retire. On the other, mass retirements can decimate departments, creating the need for mass hirings that will create another crisis in the future.

At the same time, with the elimination of mandatory retirement, many faculty are working on into and beyond their seventies because they feel they still have much to contribute, because their identities are closely tied to their work, because they wish to remain connected to their institutions, or for financial reasons.

Given institutions’ legal constraints and planning exigencies, and faculties’ varied motivations, what are the options that can satisfy the needs of both parties? This book presents a range of examples of how institutions of all types and sizes are addressing these dilemmas, and how faculty members have helped create or shape policies that address their needs and allow them to continue to play meaningful roles at their institutions.

The contributors describe practices that address the concerns of those already nearing or in retirement, propose approaches to creating opportunities to start these sensitive discussions and address financial planning at early career stages, and outline strategies for developing clear structures and policies and communication so that individuals have a full understanding of their options as they make life-changing decisions.

This book presents models from fifteen colleges and universities identified by the American Council on Education through a competition for having developed innovative and effective ways to help faculty transition into retirement. It offers clear messages about the need for greater transparency in addressing retirement and transitions, for better communication, and for close coordination between human resources and academic administrators. It offers a roadmap for HR personnel, senior administrators, department chairs, and faculty themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620361924
Publisher:	Stylus Publishing
Publication date:	03/07/2014
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Jean McLaughlin is an associate director at the American Council on Education, where she has worked since 2006. During her time there, ACE has received an additional $1.8 million in funding, out of a total of $3.3 million, from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to advance career flexibility for faculty through national awards programs and to disseminate best practices throughout higher education.

Lauren Duranleau is a research analyst at the American Dental Education Association. She earned her M.P.A. from George Mason University, and her B.A. in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Maine.

Claire Van Ummersen is senior advisor at the American Council on Education (ACE), where she served for 5 years as vice president of ACE’s Center for Effective Leadership, and for 4 years as vice president and director of the Office of Women in Higher Education. Van Ummersen is President Emerita of Cleveland State University, having served as president from 1993-2001. Prior to that, Van Ummersen was Chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire, and has also served with the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education.

Table of Contents

Foreword – Lotte Bailyn, Professor of Management, Emerita, & Professor of Organization Studies, MIT Sloan School of Management
Preface – Kathleen Christensen, Program Officer, Working Longer Program, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Part One: Setting the Context
1) Redefining Faculty Retirement – Lauren J. Duranleau and Jean M. McLaughlin, American Council on Education
2) Supporting the Culminating Stages of Faculty Careers – Lauren J. Duranleau and Jean M. McLaughlin, American Council on Education

Part Two: The Psychosocial Aspects of the Culminating Stages of Faculty Careers
3) Beyond the Horizon: Helping Faculty Navigate the Retirement Transition in a Small Liberal Arts Setting – Samantha Roy and Andrea Chapdelaine, Albright College
4) Understanding Retirement from a Developmental Perspective
The Case of Mount Holyoke College – Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers, Rutgers, The State University of
New Jersey, and Lynn Pasquerella, Mount Holyoke College
5) Working in Community: Flexible Programming to Support Fulfilling Postretirement Careers -- Nathan D. Grawe, Carleton College

Part Three: Institutional Structures That Support the Culminating Stages of Faculty Careers
6) Planning a Graceful Exit to Retirement and Beyond: The San José State University Way -- Amy Strage and Joan Merdinger, San José State University
7) Developing a Legacy -- Janette Brown, University of Southern California
8) Phasing into Retirement -- Vicki Lafarge, Bentley University
9) Starting a Retirement Association at a Small Liberal Arts College – Terence E. Diggory and Susan A. Kress, Skidmore College

Part Four: Senior and Emeriti Faculty Contributions to Local Communities
10) Emeriti/ae Faculty as a Valuable Institutional Resource – Mary Lefkowitz & Kathryn Lynch, Wellesley College
11) Leveraging the Talents of Faculty Members to Create an Engaged Retirement Ecoystem at the University of Baltimore – Laura Koppes Bryan, Margarita M. Cardona, Dennis Pitta, and Beverly Schneller, University of Baltimore
12) Collaborations With the Community -- Katherine Haldeman, George Mason University

Part Five: Tapping into the Bigger Picture: Missions, Systems, & National Associations
13) Working Within Your Institutional Mission -- Mary Kochlefl, Xavier University
14) Retirement at the Frontier: Challenges and Benefits of Being in State Systems -- Binnie Singh and Maureen L. Stanton, University of California-Davis
15) Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education -- Sue Barnes and Janette Brown, Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education

Part Six: Challenges and Opportunities of Implementation
16) University of Washington Retirement Transition Options for Tenured Faculty Members – Cheryl A. Cameron and Rhonda Forman, University of Washington
17) Development of a New Retirement Program at Princeton – Joan Girgus and Sandra Johnson, Princeton University
18) Retirement Programs and Plans at Georgia Tech: Spotlight on a Technological University – Rosario Gerhardt, Georgia Institute of Technology

Part Seven: Conclusion
19) What Leaders Must Do: Ensuring Smooth Faculty Retirement Transitions
Claire A. Van Ummersen, American Council on Education

Contributors

Index

Editorial Reviews

"If you wish to explore the nature and evolution of the faculty retirement landscape in America, this is the book for you. It will be an eye opener for many in the academy, but especially for those whose responsibilities include assistance to faculty members navigating the transition to retirement and the development of meaningful and productive lives post-retirement. As professoriate continues to become "grayer," heightened sensitivities to retirement matters will become ever more important. This book will be of great assistance in mapping progressive approaches to change and reinforcement across the higher education landscape."

From the Publisher