Certain academic staff (Senior Research Scientist, Senior Research Engineer, and Librarian) and administrative officials (President, Provost, and Dean) are also eligible for emeritus consideration. See HOP 2-2430: Emeritus Titles, VII.B-C.

The emeritus title confers a lifetime academic appointment upon eligible retired faculty members. The emeritus title may also include a named professorship, chair, or fellowship held by the faculty member prior to retirement, if approved by the Dean and department chair, and if not prohibited by the conditions of the professorship, chair, or fellowship.

Review HOP 2-2430: Emeritus Titles for additional information.

Page menu:

1 Emeritus eligibility
2 Process - Emeritus nomination
3 Emeritus privileges and perquisites
4 Eligibility to serve on graduate committees
5 Systems access for retirees
6 Employment of emeriti
7 Resources

Emeritus eligibility

Per HOP 2-2430: Emeritus Titles, VII.A., retired faculty may be considered for emeritus status if they meet the following requirements:

At the time of their separation from the University:
- Are at least 55 years of age
- Have had at least 10 years of active service at UT Austin
During their period of active service at the University, held one of the following titles:
- Professor
- Associate Professor
- Research Professor
- Distinguished Senior Lecturer
- Clinical Professor
- Professor of Practice
- Professor of Instruction
- Medical titles: Professor of Clinical Nursing, Professor of Medicine (Clinical Researcher), Professor of Medicine (Clinical Educator), Professor of Medicine (Clinical Scholar)

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Process - Emeritus nomination

See information at EVPP: Faculty Retirement, page 7, "Emeritus Requests."

Emeritus status is not automatically granted upon retirement, but must be requested following the steps listed below.

The department should assemble an emeritus nomination packet consisting of the following:
1. An up-to-date CV for the faculty member
2. A memo from the department chair addressed to the Dean, supporting the nomination, and including the following information:
  1. The faculty member's accomplishments, individual distinction, and quality of contribution and service to the University
  2. The breakdown of votes by the department Budget Council or Executive Committee
  3. The effective date of the emeritus award (may not be earlier than the faculty member's first day of retirement)
  4. The appropriate recommended emeritus title
  5. Any honorific titles (Named Professorship, Chair, or Fellowship; Distinguished Teacher Award) to be included in the emeritus title
Department forwards nomination packet to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.
If the Dean is supportive of the nomination, COE Faculty Affairs in collaboration with the Dean and Senior Associate Dean will draft a memo to be added to the nomination packet.
COE Faculty Affairs forwards the emeritus nomination packet including the Dean's memo to APS via the ServiceNow portal. Once received, Academic Personnel Services (APS) will process an Interim Emeritus Academic Appointment in Workday for the faculty member to ensure they retain privileges, i.e., network and library access, while their nomination goes through the approval process.
APS will review the nomination packet and forward it to the Office of the President for approval.
The Provost's Office will email finalized approval to the Dean's Office, and the department Administrative Manager will be copied. Dean's Office Faculty Affairs will save a copy of the official approval to the faculty member's personnel file.
If approved, APS will process the necessary transactions to establish the faculty member's emeritus status in Workday.

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Emeritus privileges and perquisites

Holders of emeritus titles will be granted the following privileges and perquisites, per HOP 2-2430: Emeritus Titles, section VII.A.4:

Membership (without vote) in the General Faculty and in the college and department faculties in which membership was held at the time of retirement
Eligibility to serve on graduate committees, subject to the approval of the senior vice provost and dean of graduate studies. See COE: Emeritus Faculty > Eligibility to serve on graduate committees on this page.
Listing in the faculty directory and in the appropriate college catalog
Use of the campus mail service consistent with HOP 4-1140: University Mail Services.
Office space, when available and with the approval of the chair of the department, the Dean, and the President

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Eligibility to serve on graduate committees

See Graduate School: Advancing to Doctoral Candidacy > Forming the Dissertation Commitee.

Retired faculty who have been nominated or granted emeritus status and who were members of the GSC upon retirement may request continued membership on the GSC with approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies. Such requests should be accompanied by the recommendation of the appropriate GSC, and be submitted to the graduate school by the GSC chair. If approved, the continued membership will be reviewed annually.

Such faculty may serve on student committees as a GSC member or as a co-supervisor, but may not serve as a sole supervisor.

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