The role and status of faculty emeriti in American doctoral schools of library and information studies

The privileges, opportunities, benefits, prerogatives, perquisites, duties, and responsibilities of the faculty emeriti in twenty-three U.S. schools of library and information studies with doctoral programs were examined. A questionnaire was sent to all seventy-seven identified emeriti of twenty-three schools. Sixty-one responses-a 79 percent response rate-yielded data on their situation before and after retirement. Ninety-two percent of respondents did not serve on new-faculty search committees, and 59 percent did not serve on dissertation committees after retirement, suggesting a loss for the schools. After retirement, 49 percent had office space, 43 percent had clerical assistance, 26 percent had research assistance, 61 percent had free or reduced-cost parking, and none reported voting at faculty meetings. Thirty-nine percent reported having been recalled to temporary teaching duty. The level of research after retirement was very closely and positively related to individuals' level of professional activity. Half largely abandoned both activities. Although three-quarters of the emeriti consider their status "highly" or "generally" satisfactory, about one in ten feel alienated from their schools, unappreciated, unconsulted, and unutilized.