Proposal for an Emeritus College at Montana State University

ABSTRACT

Montana State University, in affiliation with the Association of Retired Faculty (ARF), proposes to plan, develop and implement an Emeritus College as part of the infrastructure of the institution. The purposes of the Emeritus College shall be to better serve the overall mission of Montana State University through more effective utilization of retired faculty and staff - and - to enhance services to retirees and pre-retirees by providing information, rendering services and improving opportunities for continuing growth throughout retirement years. The Emeritus College will promote lifelong scholarship, research and service - and - facilitate the availability of retired faculty and staff who wish to share their accumulated knowledge with society through lectures, short courses, publications and services; both collegially and for the public.

The Emeritus College is proposed as an official academic unit within Montana State University with all of the appropriate benefits, distinctions and obligations that accompany such a designation. The Emeritus College will include a range and variety of emeritus faculty and staff interests and projects through the establishment of Emeritus College Centers. A Dean of the Emeritus College will be appointed from among the ranks of the Montana State University retired faculty. The compensation for the Dean will be determined by agreement between the Dean and the University. The Dean will be assisted by a full-time Administrative Assistant. The Dean will be advised by a Dean’s Advisory Council consisting of the directors of the Emeritus College Centers and other members as prescribed by the Emeritus College By-Laws. Financing of the Emeritus College will come from University budget appropriations, annual dues, special assessments, and funding through external sources.

Emeritus college faculty and staff designation shall be open to all faculty and staff retiring from Montana State University and retired faculty from other universities who live in the greater community and wish to affiliate with Montana State University.

Emeritus Colleges, Emeritus Centers and Retirement Associations have been established at many institutions of higher learning throughout the United States. These colleges, centers and associations all share basic principles relating directly to the rationale for their existence. The most important of these principles is that the emeritus college fosters and supports the continued scholarly, creative and artistic lives of its members - and - in so doing, prolongs continued fruitful engagement of the individual emeritus faculty and staff with the University. Montana State University recommends that the Montana Board of Regents approve the founding of an Emeritus College at Montana State University.