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Seton Hall University

Policy for Award of the Status of Professor Emeritus

Purpose

In recognition of distinguished and meritorious service rendered to Seton Hall University, the provost may confer on a retired faculty member the following designations: 

  • professor emeritus/emerita
  • associate professor emeritus/emerita
  • senior faculty associate emeritus/emerita
  • faculty associate emeritus/emerita

Respect for the central role of faculty in the University, and the extensive contributions and sacrifice of long-term faculty, calls on us to ensure that the designation of emeritus represents a rigorous and meaningful, rather than automatic honor. This revision of the Faculty Emeritus Policy hereby distinguishes the designation of, and the privileges pertaining to, Retired Faculty and Faculty Emeritus. Application for either status may be made in or after the faculty member’s last contracted semester of teaching at the University; faculty on a phased retirement arrangement should make an application, if they desire, at the end rather than the outset of the phased retirement period.  

Scope

University Policy

Definitions

Policy

Update

We intend to assemble the next peer review panel described in the current policy in June of 2024. To provide enough time for completion and review of materials, faculty who will be retired by the end of Spring 2024 who intend to apply for emeritus status are asked to submit their applications by March 1, 2024. Click here to view the Emeritus Timeline. 

Conferment of privileges to retired faculty
Professors and associate professors who have served Seton Hall University full time for at least ten (10) years as tenured members of the faculty, as well as faculty serving in the colleges without tenure with the same years of service, may apply for retired or emeritus status upon their retirement. Faculty associates and senior faculty associates who have served Seton Hall University for at least fifteen (15) years as members of the faculty may also apply for retired or emeritus status upon their retirement. Requests for retired status shall be made by the faculty member in writing to the appropriate Dean. If the request is approved by the Dean, the Dean shall forward the request with indication of Dean approval to the Provost. The conferment of the retired status shall be at the faculty member’s rank at the time of his or her retirement. The title does not confer any employment status, rights or associated entitlements.  

Retired faculty will be accorded the following privileges. Eligibility for these privileges may be rescinded at any time by the Provost. The termination of these privileges may be appealed to the President. 

  1. The University shall continue to provide an email address to retired faculty. The University reserves the right to periodically assess usage of email privileges and to withdraw email privileges with reasonable notice.*
  2. Retired faculty shall have the right to faculty discounts, where available, for the University bookstore, athletic events, performances and exhibitions.
  3. Library privileges shall be retained by retired faculty.
  4. University Club and Recreation Center privileges shall be retained by faculty emeriti. Parking privileges, at faculty rates, shall be retained by retired faculty.
  5. Retired Faculty shall be retained on all mailing lists that contain information of general interest to Seton Hall faculty.

* Accounts not accessed within 365 days will be de-activated.

Conferment of emeritus/emerita status
Emeritus/emerita status is a further honor available to eligible retired faculty but not automatically conferred. Requests to be accorded the rank of emeritus shall undergo an additional review process with the expectation that not all applications will be approved. Confidentiality shall be maintained at all levels of the process and reviewers shall not divulge the results of their votes to the faculty applicants or other faculty not involved in review of the application. 

Faculty seeking emeritus status shall prepare a formal request of up to six pages, comprising up to two pages presenting highlights of the faculty member’s teaching accomplishments, up to two pages highlighting research and scholarly accomplishments, and up to two pages highlighting the faculty member’s service to the University, the community, and the discipline. Faculty shall submit this request to their Chairperson, while simultaneously notifying the Dean and the Provost of the submission of the request. Faculty should feel free to include information about their future plans and the academic activities that would be facilitated with emeritus status (letter of recommendation, mentoring, conferences, etc). 

Within one month of the submission of the request, the Department should vote on its recommendation for approval and report their decision to the Dean. The Dean shall review the application and make a recommendation to the Provost. Neither the Department nor Dean shall report the recommendation to the applicant.  

When five applications for emeritus status have accumulated, or a year has elapsed since the earliest unreviewed application, the Provost will call together an Emeritus Review Committee. The Provost may call this committee earlier if warranted by the timing of the applications. This Committee will consist of six faculty with at least the same ten years of service at the University, or fifteen for Faculty Associates, as required for emeritus status. One member of the committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate from among faculty not currently serving on the Executive Committee. Ideally, two of the other four faculty will have served on Rank and Tenure in the same year, and two will be themselves Faculty Emeriti. The Emeritus Review Committee shall meet within a month of being called and review the application and make a confidential recommendation to the Provost. The Committee shall not report its recommendation to the applicant, Dean, or Department, or any other individuals and all deliberations and recommendations should remain confidential. A brief written justification shall be provided for the positive recommendations; the committee need not provide an explanation for negative recommendations.  

Faculty not awarded emeritus status may apply again after a year has elapsed. 

Faculty emeriti shall continue to abide by the policies and procedures of Seton Hall University. Emeritus status may be rescinded at any time by the provost. The termination of emeritus status may be appealed to the president.  

University Services and Privileges
Faculty emeriti are invited and encouraged to play an active role in the intellectual life of Seton Hall University. In addition to the aforementioned privileges accorded to retired faculty:

  1. Faculty emeriti are entitled to identify themselves publicly as faculty emeriti of the University, its Schools and Colleges, and its departments.
  2. Faculty emeriti will be listed in the University Catalogues and on the University website.
  3. Faculty emeriti may participate in academic processions, including faculty convocation, commencement, and Charter Day at Seton Hall.
  4. A Seton Hall University identification card shall be provided to faculty emeriti upon request.

The University reserves the right to amend this academic policy at any time.

Related Policies

Responsible Offices

  • Office of the Provost

Approval

Approved

Effective Date

June 10th, 2015