Employee comments invited for emerita/emeritus titles

UC invites comments on proposed revisions to Academic Personnel Manual Section 120 (APM - 120), Emerita/Emeritus Titles.

In May of 2018, the Board of Regents rescinded Standing Order 103.5 relating to the conferral of emeritus status and incorporated the provisions into Regents Policy 1203: Policy on Emerita/Emeritus Title Suffix. The revised Regents Policy changed eligibility requirements regarding automatic emeritus status for non-tenured Senate faculty, such as Professors of Clinical (e.g., Medicine), Professors in Residence, and Lecturers with Security of Employment. Recommended changes to the Regents Policy were developed with the input of the Academic Senate and UCOP Academic Affairs.

Because APM policy cannot conflict with Regents Policy, technical revisions to APM - 120 were issued on July 1, 2019, to conform with revised Regents Policy 1203. As noted in the July 1, 2019 issuance letter, we anticipated that a systemwide review of APM - 120 would be forthcoming to consider whether systemwide criteria for the recommendation of non-tenured Senate faculty was necessary, among other things. Summarized below are the proposed key revisions that are now being distributed for systemwide review.  

• Gender inclusive title suffix. For the purposes of APM - 120, the abbreviation of “Emer.” is proposed to be recognized as the gender inclusive form of the title suffix. Academic appointees may choose to use the title suffix Emerita, Emeritus or the abbreviation of “Emer.”
• Criteria for the recommendation of non-tenured Senate faculty.Some campuses expressed a desire for systemwide criteria regarding the emeriti status of non-tenured Senate faculty, while other campuses expressed a desire to be permitted to develop local criteria through local campus policies and procedures. The revised policy proposes that these individuals be judged by “evidence of noteworthy and meritorious contributions to the educational mission and programs of the University, as determined by local procedures.”
• Disqualification criteria. Criteria for the disqualification of non-tenured Senate faculty or non-Senate appointees is proposed in APM - 120-10-c and -d. This language mirrors the language contained in Regents Policy 1203 concerning Senior Management Group appointees.
• Deans and Faculty Administrators. A new subsection, APM - 120-10-e, is proposed to address the conferral of the Emerita/Emeritus/Emer. title suffix for Dean or Faculty Administrator titles.  In addition, new language has been added to APM - 120-10-a to clarify that individuals must hold a title at the time of retirement in order to be eligible to be conferred the title suffix with that particular title.
• Definition of “retirement” for Savings Choice participants. Under the Savings Choice program, there is no longer a formal “retirement” for participants due to the nature of the program. For the purposes of APM - 120, it is proposed that “retirement” for Savings Choice participants be defined as separation from the University after reaching normal retirement age (as defined in the UCRP) with five or more years of service.
• Clarification of curtailment authority. Language is proposed in APM - 120-24 to clarify authority for the curtailment of emeritus status.
• Rescission and incorporation of Appendix A. The previous Appendix A documents relating to space resource allocation are proposed for rescission, as the key principles of the documents have been incorporated into the policy text in APM - 120-80-d.

The proposed revisions to APM - 120, Emerita/Emeritus Title Suffix, are posted under the “Systemwide Review” tab at https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/academic-personnel-policy/policies-under-review/index.html.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than Feb. 28, 2020.

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