Report from Faculty Salaries and Welfare Committee on the Status of Professors Emeriti
May 19, 2015

In response to queries from professors emeriti received during the course of summer and fall 2014, the Faculty Salaries and Welfare Committee was charged by the Senate Steering Committee to look into the situation and develop a report for the Senate. These concerns are addressed below in four sections.

First, there are concerns that are addressed in the Faculty and Personnel Policies and Procedures Handbook (section 3.10.3: Emeritus Status Policy and Procedures, included as p. 5 of this document).1  These concerns are:

What and who limits access for Emeriti on campus?
What are the rules where? (faculty versus employee versus Auburn citizen only?)
Where are the rules codified? By whom?
Should the current mostly uncodified rules for Emeriti be changed, or if unchanged at least be made public in the Faculty Handbook or elsewhere?

Emeriti privileges/rules are public and easily accessible. There is indeed much “uncodified,” which is addressed next.

Second, Auburn’s professors emeriti have a diverse set of relationships with the university. Some immediately   move away, some maintain an active research agenda, and some return for limited teaching or research engagements at Auburn. It is impossible to formulate a detailed policy that covers all of them, especially given the different needs of, say, a retired English professor with an active research agenda and retired Chemistry professor who returns for limited engagements. For this reason Auburn’s University’s emeriti policy is vague—but not unusual compared to other universities—in assigning privileges. In spirit, and like other universities, Auburn prefers concerns to be handled within the department, school or college, as they will be attuned to the particular needs of its professors emeriti. These concerns are:

Do Emeriti retain mailing privileges for professional correspondence at their home department?
Should Emeriti keep an AU affiliation professionally when retired or revert to home addresses on papers and editorial boards?
Emeriti may lose access to professional software
Emeriti may not get any travel assistance even when representing AU
Who does what, why, how (Banner versus OIT versus Dean versus Personnel Office)
Why are Emeriti not considered as faculty in more respects than e-mail and library privileges?

Mail privileges, software budgets, office space, and reimbursement for official Auburn travel are currently issues handled at the local (i.e., departmental or college) level depending on the availability of those resources and whether a professor emeritus is continuing to work on university projects. It is as impossible to address “who does what,  why and how” for professors emeriti as it is for actively employed professors; both have varying relationships to the many aspects of the university, all of which engage different channels of communication. As with actively  employed professors, the department chair should be the main interface to the university for professors emeriti.

Third, there are concerns addressed by contact with various Auburn administrators, by consulting the appropriate website, or that are currently being remedied. These concerns are addressed one by one:

Emeriti vanish from AU’s People Finder
-	People Finder is now defaulting to include Emeritus Faculty; the Senate Leadership has asked IT
to make an option where each emeritus can decide whether or not to be included.
Parking tags for professors emeriti
-	Parking tags are paid for by paycheck deduction; as the system currently exists there is no way for
those not receiving a paycheck to obtain a parking pass online. Thus professors emeriti can
purchase parking tags only in person, not on-line. We agree this is an extra burden, but Auburn's parking office is one of the most accessible places on campus, with ample parking and easy

1     Also:    www.auburn.edu/academic/provost/facultyHandbook/chapter%203personnel_policies.html)

access, so that a once-a-year visit should not impose an unreasonable obstacle to tag renewal. Some universities do have special parking privileges for their professor emeriti, so following code
3.10.3.8 (“The president may designate other privileges to emeritus faculty”) it might be worth asking the president to include specific parking privileges among the emeriti benefits.
Emeriti may lose access to VPN
-	Anyone with an active Auburn email address and banner login should have access to VPN. Does
this concern reference a more specific, rather than a potential, issue?
Emeriti may have to pay double fees at AU swimming pool
We have confirmed that there is currently no difference in rates for retirees for the Aquatics
Center. They pay the same employee rate.
Emeriti may have to pay Auburn citizen rates at the Wellness Center just to “walk”
As it says online, the emeritus rate is the same as the faculty rate.2
We need to learn the chain of actions that cut Emeriti in many aspects from standard AU access
Emeritus professors who need to log into AU Access for ongoing work on university projects
should request this access from their administrative unit (department or school or college).
Lack of access to Lynda.com via the library portal
As with access to other university software and programs, beyond email and the Library, access
may be requested through the department.
Should these internal AU changes be communicated to Emeriti in some way?
For privileges beyond those listed in the Handbook, emeritus professors should work with their
administrative unit (department or school or college).

Fourth, there are concerns outside the purview of the University Senate or questions that need clarification. These concerns are addressed one by one:

Emeriti may lose MEDEX coverage even when representing AU abroad
Those traveling on official Auburn business, which Auburn policy defines as “eligible for
reimbursement,” have access to MEDEX. This is decided at the departmental level.
Those unable to obtain departmental reimbursement for MEDEX coverage probably cannot buy
their own MEDEX coverage through Auburn. Inexpensive MEDEX policies are available
privately.
Since this concern is expressed as a conditional (may lose) and we’ve heard no specific complaints
of coverage denial, it is best to address this if it actually happens.
Emeriti lose access to classroom computers
It’s not clear why professors emeriti would need access to classroom computers unless under a
post-retirement contract. Whatever the case may be, this is almost certainly something to be
handled within the department.
Emeriti access priority for athletic tickets?
Not within the purview of the committee (this needs to be addressed with the Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics). Please note the recent changes.3

2 http://www.campusrec.auburn.edu/memberships, listed as “employee/retiree.”
3            http://www.auburn.edu/administration/governance/senate/website/agendas/2014-2015/Feb15/tix-chgs_summary.html

3.10.3 Emeritus Status Policy and Procedures ‡
Eligibility: Emeritus status may be awarded on retirement to faculty holding the rank of professor, associate professor, or their equivalents with ten years or more of sustained meritorious service to Auburn University. Faculty entering into retirement as the result of a disability must meet these eligibility standards, but may be exempt from the ten-year requirement. This honorary title may be awarded posthumously. Faculty holding a titled professorship at the time of retirement may transfer the title to emeritus status. The president may award emeritus status to other university retirees not holding faculty rank but meeting the qualification of ten years or more of sustained meritorious service to Auburn University.
Procedures: The faculty member may request consideration for emeritus status through the department head or chair, with the concurrence of the dean of the college or school. The dean will provide information and a recommendation concerning the faculty member’s eligibility to the provost. This information and recommendation shall include the results of a vote on the awarding of emeritus status taken from all department faculty. The provost will then make a recommendation to the president, who will act upon the recommendation and advise the faculty member and dean.
Privileges: Departments, colleges, and schools are encouraged to invite emeritus faculty to serve as lecturers, substitute instructors, and consultants, providing such faculty an opportunity for continued visibility at the University as a reflection of their experience and past service to the University. To this
end, emeritus faculty may be provided the following privileges and courtesies.

The names of all emeritus faculty will be included in a special section of the University Bulletin.
Emeritus faculty are encouraged to participate in university events and are provided access to such events and the social and recreational resources of the university.
Emeritus faculty retain faculty access to the University Libraries, including all services normally provided active faculty.
Emeritus faculty may audit any Auburn University instructional course offering at no charge when space is available and with the approval of the instructor of the course.
Emeritus faculty are encouraged to participate in extramural contracts and grants through the University.
Emeritus faculty retain the parking, university ID card, network, and e-mail privileges normally assigned to active faculty.
At the discretion of department heads or chairs and college or school deans and based on the availability of these resources, emeritus faculty may be provided office space, office support, mailing privileges, laboratory space, and library carrels when used for professional purposes in support of the University’s mission.
The president may designate other privileges to emeritus faculty.