Emeritus and Recall Appointments

Emeritus Status

Research Professor Title

Use of Accumulated Research Accounts after Retirement

Recall to Service after Retirement

Emeritus Status

Emeritus status is automatically conferred, upon retirement, on every Professor and Associate Professor provided that the effective date of their initiation of retirement benefits or lump sum cash out occurs within 120 days of separation from the University.

Upon recommendation of the Academic Senate, the title suffix Emerita/Emeritus for positions held at the time of retirement may be conferred, upon retirement, on those members of the Academic Senate who do not hold the title of Professor or Associate Professor at the time of retirement (Lecturer with Security of Employment, Senior Lecturer with Security of Employment, Associate Professor of Clinical X, Professor of Clinical X, Associate Professor in Residence, Professor in Residence).

Upon retirement, those who retire from a non-Senate academic position who meets certain criteria may submit a packet seeking conferral of emeritus status provided that they have:

1. At least ten years of University service;
2. Attained the highest rank in their title series; and
3. Evidence of noteworthy and meritorious contributions to the educational mission and programs of the University.

Exceptions to the criteria are not permitted.

See APM 120 for policy and procedures on the nomination and review process.

The following chart provides information on which emeritus job code to enter into the payroll system upon conferral or approval of emeritus status:

Downloadable chart available here: Emeritus Recall Job Code Guide PDF

Research Professor Title

The working title of "Research Professor" may be used on grant applications by Emeriti Professors who wish to continue to apply for research grants, provided they are on an active recall for extramurally funded research (job codes 1700 or 1702, see recall guidance below).

Use of Accumulated Research Accounts After Retirement

When a Senate faculty member separates or retires, any remaining balance in their research account will revert to the Dean’s office and future use of those funds is at the discretion of the Dean. Separated faculty who have a research account balance at time of separation are no longer eligible to use the funds. For retired faculty holding emeritus titles, deans, in consultation with the department chair, can create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a period not to exceed 3 years to permit the retiree to use any amount up to the remaining balance of their research funds. The MOU would be appropriate under the following circumstances:

• If the emeritus faculty member has a recall appointment at UC Merced for teaching, research, or service, or
• If the emeritus faculty member is demonstrably active at UC Merced as evidenced by active grants, active research projects, active graduate student supervision, or active participation in departmental service activities.

Any such use of the funds is subject to the guidelines set forth above and must have a clear University purpose, consistent with the nature of the recall appointment or continued UC Merced campus engagement. For example, if an emeritus faculty member is recalled to teach on a specific topic, it may not be appropriate to approve travel to attend a conference outside that field. Emeritus faculty who are not on recall appointment or otherwise not demonstrably active in teaching, research, or service at UC Merced may not use the balance of their research accounts.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Recall to Service after Retirement

A retired academic appointee may be eligible to be recalled to active service for a term appointment. APM 205 outlines the general university policy and procedure on recall appointments.

• The recall may be for teaching, research and/or administrative service in an academic title.
• A concurrent Emeritus title is not required for a recall appointment.
• A recall may be with or without (WOS) salary.
  
  • Salaried recalls are limited to 43% per month, inclusive of all recall appointments and other UC compensation (e.g., one-time payments) at all UC locations. See salary limitations below.

• A recall appointment service date may occur no earlier than 30 calendar days following the academic appointee’s retirement date. The retirement date is distinct from the appointee’s separation date (or last day on pay status) and refers to the date that the appointee is eligible to receive retirement benefits as per their retirement election form.
• The University may terminate a recall appointment prior to the specified end date with a minimum of 30 calendar days’ notice or pay-in-lieu of notice for those who are compensated.
• Senate members may pursue their grievance rights under the terms of Senate Bylaw 335 and non-Senate academics may pursue their grievance rights under the terms of APM 140.
• Recalled academic appointees must comply with all applicable University policies, procedures, rules, and training requirements.

Length of recall appointments:

• Recall appointments are normally one year or less but may be up to three years in cases of pre-retirement agreements. Following a positive review, recall appointments may be renewed on an annual basis thereafter.
  
  • Pre-Retirement Recall Agreements: Campus administrators may only make a pre-retirement recall agreement with academic appointees age 60 or older and who have five years of service credit (“UCRP normal retirement age”). Such an agreement may provide for a recall term of up to three academic years, with the possibility of annual renewal thereafter. Administrators may not discuss recall appointments with academic appointees who have not attained the UCRP normal retirement age.
• For recall appointments involving active research grants, appointments may be made up to the period of secured funding. Following a positive review, the same is true for reappointments.

Criteria for recall appointments:

The following criteria shall be considered in determining whether to recommend or approve a recall appointment:

1. The teaching, research, service, or faculty administrator needs of the unit;

2. The ability of the candidate in relation to the criteria for the type of recall appointment proposed, which should include evidence of one or more of the following:

• positive teaching evaluations for the same or similar courses proposed
• active external funding, a proposal to attain funding, or a recent history of external funding
• recent publication of scholarly and/or creative work
• regular scholarly presentations at professional meetings
• successful service for the department, division, or campus
• successful service as a faculty administrator

3. Availability of office and/or laboratory space; and,

4. Budgetary resources.

Procedure to request a recall appointment:

Recall to active service, whether paid or without salary (WOS), requires pre-approval. All recall requests must be submitted as an Exemption request by the department using AP Recruit, which will route through the chair, to the dean, and to the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel for final approval.

Salary limitations for recall appointments:

The maximum salary rate for recall appointments that include teaching, research, or other non-administrative duties is the individual’s annual base salary rate (including any off-scale salary) for the academic position held at the time of retirement, range adjusted forward, then multiplied by .43. The salary for retired academic appointees recalled to faculty administrative titles (as described in APM - 240 - 241and - 246) is a negotiated rate based on the nature and scope of the duties assigned, other comparable positions, and the relevant administrative experience of the individual.

If you return to active service after retirement, including a recall appointment, we recommend you consult a tax professional regarding how your retirement account distributions may be affected by the recall appointment. The Returning to UC Employment After Retirement fact sheet contains additional information about distributions options when returning to work at UC after retirement.

Please use the following decision tree and definitions to help determine the appropriate recall job code.

Downloadable chart available here: Emeritus and Recall Decision Tree Guide PDF

Recall job codes and definitions:

• 1700, RECALL TEACHNG – for recall appointment with teaching duties only.
• 1701, RECALL HCOMP – for recall appointees who are members of the Health Sciences Compensation Plan.
• 1702, RECALL FACULTY – for recall appointees with a combination of teaching, research, clinical, and/or administrative duties. Also, job code 1702 is used for recall appointees with only one of these duties, except for teaching. For teaching duties only, use job code 1700.
• 3802, RECALL NON-FACULTY ACAD – for exempt recall of non-faculty academic appointees such as Academic Coordinators, Academic Administrators, Professional Research Series, Specialist, and Librarians.*
• 3812, RECAL NON-FACULTY ACAD NEX – for non-example recall of non-faculty academic appointees such as Academic Coordinators, Academic Administrators, Professional Research Series, Specialist, and Librarians.*

*Note, academic personnel may only be recalled to engage in duties they performed in their pre-retirement title.