POLICY STATEMENT

This policy sets out the process for academic and administrative faculty to apply for Emeritus/Emerita Status. Emeritus/Emerita Status is granted to honor exemplary service to Nevada State, and to encourage continued association with Nevada State for the purposes of institutional service, academic instruction, and scholarly and creative work.

DEFINITIONS

Emeritus/Emerita Status: Rank awarded by the President to qualifying full-time academic and administrative faculty at the time of retirement from Nevada State in recognition of distinguished contributions to Nevada State and long-term achievement in teaching, research, service, and/or administration. Emeritus refers to male-identifying faculty while Emerita is used for female-identifying faculty.

PROCEDURES

I. Eligibility

Eligibility for Emeritus/Emerita Status requires full-time employment by Nevada State for at least ten (10) consecutive years immediately before beginning retirement (including phased-in retirement) from Nevada State College.

II. Benefits and Limitations

Employees awarded Emeritus/Emerita Status have lifetime faculty status at Nevada State.

A. Benefits and Privileges: Faculty with Emeritus/Emerita Status retain the following benefits and privileges:

1. Grant-in-aid (including for eligible relatives) as provided by NSHE;
2. Nevada State email account;
3. Faculty discounts on campus events;
4. Faculty library privileges;
5. Faculty ID card;
6. Inclusion on email lists regarding campus events and lecture series;
7. Inclusion on email lists of invitations to certain departmental, school, and/or campus events;
8. Use of Nevada State-branded stationery to conduct institutional service;
9. Use of office space and/or research or creative works activities, if available and approved by the Dean/Library Director and Provost, provided doing so does not interfere with the College’s ability to serve students and provide adequate facilities for other faculty;
10. Ability to teach as an adjunct at the elevated rate of 120% of the standard adjunct faculty rate per credit for a course.
11. Inclusion in faculty seating at Commencement, pinning ceremonies, and other official student recognitions.
12. When feasible and approved by the Office of Marketing and Events, newly Emeritus/Emerita faculty will be recognized in the Commencement program and/or during the Commencement ceremony.

B. Limitations and Exclusions: Emeritus/Emerita faculty are non-voting members of their units and cannot attend unit meetings unless specifically invited by the unit supervisor.

C. Revocation: Emeritus Status/Emerita may be revoked at the President’s sole and absolute discretion if, in the President’s judgment, the employee may have an adverse impact on Nevada State or bring discredit, disrepute, or potential legal liability upon the institution.

D. Emeritus/Emerita Status for Presidents: Nevada State Presidents are not covered by this policy. The process of granting Emeritus Status is covered in the NSHE Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 32.

III. Nomination and Review

A. Nomination: Academic and administrative faculty requesting Emeritus/Emerita Status must be nominated by their Dean or Library Director (for academic faculty) or direct supervisor (for administrative faculty). The nomination should be in the form of a letter addressed to the President recommending Emeritus/Emerita Status and stating the proposed effective date. The letter should include the nominee’s current curriculum vitae (CV) or résumé.

B. Timeline: A nomination for Emeritus/Emerita Status may be submitted at any time during the final academic year of employment or up to one full calendar year from the effective date of retirement from Nevada State.

C. Review Process:

1. Unit vote: All full-time faculty within the nominee’s unit will vote on whether to recommend approval of the nomination to Emeritus/Emerita Status.

i. For academic faculty nominations, all full-time academic faculty on renewable, non-emergency contracts are eligible to vote to recommend approval or denial of the application.

ii. For administrative faculty nominations, all full-time administrative faculty within the nominee’s unit are eligible to vote. If relevant full-time peers are not easily identifiable (e.g., an administrative faculty member is housed in a unit without other administrative faculty), a group of at least five (5) relevant full-time peers will be identified by the immediate supervisor and approved by the Director of Human Resources for the purposes of review and voting.

iii. The dean/library director will select one person outside of the unit to coordinate the voting process. The vote will occur within ten (10) Working Days of the voters’ receipt of the nomination materials. The vote coordinator will report the results of the vote to the dean/library director and Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

2. Faculty Senate endorsement: Faculty Senate will conduct a vote of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and the appropriate standing Senate committee (e.g., Academic Faculty Affairs for academic faculty and Administrative Faculty Affairs for administrative faculty). The Senate Executive Committee will write a brief letter explaining the result of the vote and whether Senate endorses conveying Emeritus/Emerita status on the candidate. The Senate Executive Committee then forwards the letter and all preceding materials to the Office of the President.

3. Presidential review: The President will review the nomination materials and results of all votes and will then make a final determination. The Office of the President will inform the candidate in writing.

D. Request for Reasons and Reconsideration: Within fifteen (15) calendar days after notification that the application for Emeritus/Emerita status has been denied, the faculty member may submit a written request to the President for a statement of the reasons for the denial. The President (or designee) will provide a written response via email within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving the request for reasons. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving the reasons, a faculty member may request reconsideration. The request must be submitted in writing, via email, to the President and must include the reasons, arguments, and documentation supporting the request for reconsideration. Within fifteen (15) calendar of receiving a request for reconsideration, along with supporting documentation, the President will determine whether to overturn the original decision and will notify the faculty member in writing of the final decision. This decision is not eligible for further appeal.

RELATED INFORMATION

• NSHE Handbook Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 43 (Emeritus Status)
• NSHE Handbook Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 11 (Grant-in-Aid Benefit)
• NSHE Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 32 (Regents Professor and Emeritus Status)

APPROVALS

Approved by Dr. Laura Naumann, Faculty Senate Chair, May 4, 2021.
Approved by Dr. Vickie Shields, Provost, May 5, 2021.
Approved by President Bart Patterson, May 10, 2021.