Frequently Asked Questions

The Emeritus College is an administrative unit under the Provost's Office at Arizona State University, whose membership consists of emeritus professors. It is administered by a dean and classified staff. Assisting the dean is an Emeritus College council and associate and assistant deans as well as several committees. Emeritus College gives a home and focus to continued intellectual, creative and social engagement of retired faculty. It serves its members, the university and the community as a clearinghouse for resources made available both by the membership and the university. It provides an organizational base for official university ties and emeritus policy development. It provides and sponsors various opportunities for public service and for the intellectual growth of its membership and their significant others.

The Emeritus College is housed in the Emeritus College center, Old Main, Lower Level. In addition to college offices and the hospitable center, studies and carrels with computers and internet access is available to members for casual and long-term use. Drop in and have a cup of coffee.

There had been recent publicity in The Chronicle of Higher Education about emeritus colleges, so the idea may have occurred to several individuals. But a letter from founding dean Richard (Dick) Jacob to President Michael Crow in February, 2003 initiated the chain of events that led to the present. President Crow handed the matter over to Provost Glick, who arranged for meetings in his office with Jacob and the leadership of the ASU Emeriti Association. This resulted in a proposal to establish a steering committee. Both President Crow and Provost Glick gave strong support for the concept and encouraged the committee to come up with an emeritus college that would help "to distinguish ASU among America's universities." We believe we have done just that and invite all ASU emeriti to join us in making a distinctive emeritus college a reality. A personal history of the founding of the Emeritus College appeared in Volume 6 of Emeritus Voices.

Everyone, it is hoped. The university, the faculty, the student body, the community and, most importantly, the emeritus faculty.

There are numerous ways, as surfing through the college website will reveal. But they all boil down to increasing the ability of an emeritus to continue engagement with the university, with his or her discipline and with opportunities for intellectual growth and creativity.

There are several. To name a few of them, the College Research and Creativity Grants program annually provides a limited number of grants of up to $3,000 on a competitive basis. Together with Barrett, the Honors College, the Emeritus College sponsors the Barrett Emeritus Fellowship, with which a member of the college participates in residence for a year at Barrett, teaching, lecturing, performing research and mentoring. In collaboration with Knowledge Enterprise, the college sponsors several undergraduate research internships, in which an advanced undergraduate student works with a member of the college on a research or creativity project. Members of the college have opportunities to lecture and teach in the community through the College's Academy for Continued Learning. The college offers a series of lectures and musicals to its members and colloquia to the community throughout the year. College members who wish to improve their writing skills participate in writers groups.

The physical facilities include the college offices and a seminar and conference room. Also within the Emeritus College center are carrels and studies, furnished with desks and computers with internet access. The carrels are available on a day-to-day basis and the studies, by application, for longer periods of time.

In this age of instant electronic communications, the benefits could be considerable. For example, opportunities are being developed for emeriti to serve as online advisors and to teach online courses. All members, regardless of place of residence, are eligible for the college's research awards program and would have a campus home whenever they were visiting.

The current bylaws were adopted by the Emeritus College Council on March 17, 2015, and ratified by the membership at its annual meeting in May, 2015.

Any ASU emeritus may apply for membership and be accepted without having to meet additional qualifications, though membership must be requested by application. Certain qualified emeriti of other institutions of higher learning may become members see the next question.

This was the essence of one of the questions in the survey, and a large majority of respondents were in favor of allowing this category of membership. Retired faculty who have emeritus status from other institutions with similar accreditation to ASU may apply for associate membership. Associate members enjoy most of the privileges of regular members, the few exceptions being those related to members' fundamental association with ASU, e.g., parking privileges, membership in the Faculty Academic Assembly, etc. For a complete listing of membership benefits available to associate members, see the Membership page.

There are no dues at present, but members may contribute an annual voluntary tax deductible contribution of $30 or more. The college's service and scholarly programs are supported from these funds. The college also has an endowment fund to which members and the community at large are invited to contribute

The college receives institutional budgetary support for its basic operations and facilities. Other sources of funding are also sought through development, as with any existing unit in the university.

No. The word emeritus is an adjective. Dictionaries give emeritus as the adjective for all genders, singular or plural.

While some emeritus faculty may welcome the opportunity to give pro bono service to the university in various capacities, others have different motivations for supporting such an organization, including the possibility of performing services for monetary gain. The Emeritus College tries to serve the interests of all of its members, regardless of their motivations for affiliation with it. Serving as a clearinghouse for service opportunities, pro bono or for fee, is only one of the principal functions of the college.

Membership in the Emeritus College does not obligate one to participate in any of the college's programs or opportunities. Participation is totally voluntary and a matter of individual choice. In many respects, the college is an opportunities exchange. Membership assures that you will receive information on all the opportunities that are offered through the college. On the other hand, the membership of busy and influential people provides the college with the leverage to develop more significant opportunities.

The Emeritus College is a college in the more classical sense of a community of scholars. It has no curriculum, no student body and awards no degrees. (Happily, there are no annual performance reviews of its members.) Rather than departments, the college structure involves divisions - Faculties and Academies - that serve as administrative focal points for several different types of studies and creative effort. The college also differs from other colleges in the types of services it provides its members and the university.

Divisions are designed to bring together emeriti from several academic backgrounds who have common interests in issues, research or creative activity. Several different divisions were described in the proposal to form the college. Those which currently exist or are being organized can be found at Emeritus College Faculties and Academies. Other divisions will be created as interest is expressed. Although not a faculty or academy, the college supports the ASU Emeritus College Press, which serves the membership by providing assistance in manuscript preparation and submission as well as the publication of monographs and books (these are adequately reviewed). This is an electronic press with no facilities for producing commercially suitable hard copy finished products. As long as there is interest, there is no limit to the number of divisions that can exist. Division directors serve pro bono unless they receive salary support through grants, and are ex officio members of the college council.

The ASU Retirees Association is an independent organization among whose members are both retired faculty and retired staff. ASURA serves vital functions in political circles as well as providing social opportunities. Some universities have emeriti organizations that couple the functions of these two in various degrees. But at ASU, it is hoped, they will find many opportunities for mutual cooperation and support.