Emeritus Designation

UMKC recognizes retired faculty with emeritus designation for contributions to their department and the university that are considered meritorious by department faculty and are supported by the dean, provost and chancellor.

Faculty may request emeritus designation upon declaration of university retirement. Retired faculty who have received emeritus designation continue as non-voting members of the campus faculty and their names appear in the list of officers of instruction and administration in the University Catalog. UMKC emeritus faculty are eligible to join the UMKC Emeritus College.

UMKC Emeritus Designation Process

1) Retiring faculty initiates the process

The retiring faculty member sends written notice to the unit dean indicating a desire to receive emeritus status. Please note:

• Ideally, this should be done at the time the intent-to-retire paperwork is submitted.
• The faculty member must submit an up-to-date CV along with the written request and any supporting documentation as evidence of meritorious contributions to the department and the university.

2) Dean review

The dean, in consultation with the unit human resources business partner (HRBP), reviews the faculty member’s basic eligibility for consideration for emeritus status in terms of employment duration and title against the criteria provided in CRR 320.090 Section A. Please note:

• If the faculty member is deemed eligible to be considered for emeritus status, the dean initiates a vote of the appropriate eligible voting departmental faculty. In requesting the vote, the dean should provide the applicant’s CV and supporting documentation received with the request for consideration.
• If denied, the dean notifies the candidate of faculty decision in writing.
• If the faculty member’s contributions to the department and the university are recognized as meritorious as determined by majority vote of the members of the eligible departmental voting faculty, the dean will create an application packet for the provost containing the faculty member’s
  • written request,
  • any supporting evidence that accompanied the request,
  • documentation of the faculty vote,
  • and a separate letter conveying the dean’s independent recommendation.

This packet should be emailed to the Faculty Affairs specialist who will facilitate reviews by the provost and chancellor.

3) Provost review

The provost will review all information provided in the packet, add her independent recommendation, and forward the full packet to the chancellor.

4) Chancellor review

The chancellor will review all information in the packet and render a final decision on the request in writing to the faculty member.

• If the emeritus designation is supported by the chancellor and if the applicant holds a Curators’ Professorship or Curators’ Teaching Professorship at the time of retirement, the request will then be forwarded to the Board of Curators for consideration of the Curators’ Emeritus designation.

Faculty members who receive emeritus status are eligible to join the UMKC Emeritus College. Information about the benefits of membership can be found on the Emeritus College website.

Human Resources instructions

The unit’s HRBP attaches the approval letter to a completed courtesy appointment Personnel Action Form (PAF), noting any emeritus-related ‘perks’ in the “comments” field of the PAF.

• Emeritus designation effective date is the retirement date or emeritus approval letter date (whichever is latest). There should be no end date on the PAF; courtesy appointment remains active until death.
• The unit HRBP forwards PAF and letter to the Office of the Provost (Attn: Chris Popoola, 336 Administrative Center) for approval and processing. There will be only one emeritus title code (0074 Emeritus) for all emeritus rank designations; please enter the appropriate emeritus rank designation in the “working title” field of the PAF.
• UM System emeritus designation rules and exceptions are described in full in the Collected Rules and Regulations, CRR 320.090.