Emeritus status is not conferred automatically based on the fact of retirement alone. Rather, a faculty member is eligible for emeritus/a status when the faculty member: a) retires from an eligible faculty position after faithful service; b) has reached the age of 60 or more; and c) has a minimum of five years of continuous service immediately preceding retirement.
Eligible faculty positions in the Faculty of Medicine include: Professor (Full-time), Professor of Clinical X, Professor in Residence, and Professor of the Practice. If these conditions are determined to have been met, the faculty member is eligible to append the word emeritus/a upon retirement to the title they held while active, including an endowed professorship designation (e.g., Gray Professor of Radiology, Emerita). Faculty who hold appointments as Professor, Professor of Clinical X, or Professor of the Practice may reduce their effort to part-time for up to two years before assuming the Emeritus/a title.
Emeriti Professors hold active appointments and, to the extent that they and their Department Heads wish, continue to participate in the academic life of the community. The only explicit limitations for Emeriti faculty are that they may not participate in promotion decisions, and they generally may not oversee graduate students.
Process:
Step 1: Department Head requests transition to Emeriti status
- Department Head writes letter to the Dean, sent to the OFA, of the intention of a faculty member to retire and requests appointment change to Emeritus or Emerita. Letter includes a statement documenting long and faithful service
- Confirmation of the incumbent’s intention to retire and retirement date (normally would take the form of the notice that the faculty member submitted to their Department Head or CEO/President of their intention to retire)
- If the faculty member has received a Harvard University paycheck during the course of the career, they are encouraged to contact the University Benefits office to review implications of the transition to emeritus/a status
Step 2: Dean makes a recommendation to the University
- The OFA reviews the submitted materials and when ready, forwards them to the Dean for review
- The OFA submits the Dean’s recommendation to the University
- No decision is final until the University review is complete
Step 3: University renders a decision
- The University reviews the proposed appointment
- A final decision is communicated to HMS
Step 4: Notification of approval
- The OFA informs the Department Head and/or CEO/President of the outcome via email
- Formal letter from the Dean addressed directly to candidate
- Formal letter from the University addressed directly to candidate
Last updated June 2023