Emeritus – Post-Retirement Appointment

Per the Postdoctoral Fellows Policy (AP10), postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) are individuals who have completed a doctoral degree and who are seeking the opportunity to train further in a particular area of research. They can be either employees or award recipients, depending on the job description, level of direction and nature of the research grant. For information specifically related to the different categories, such as benefits and leaves, please see Postdoctoral Fellows as Employees or Postdoctoral Fellows as Award Recipients on the Faculty Relations website.

Eligibility Criteria

A PDF must commence the appointment within five years of being awarded a Ph.D. degree or within ten years of being awarded a M.D. or D.D.S. degree; however, this time period may be extended by circumstances requiring an interruption in a research career (e.g. maternity/parental/adoptive leave).

New Appointment Checklist

Documents to be submitted via Workday:

• Signed Offer Letter (see Faculty Relation’s offer letter template for PDF appointments)
• Current curriculum vitae
• Proof of legal entitlement to perform work for UBC
  • For citizens or permanent residents of Canada, providing the Social Insurance Number (SIN) in Workday is sufficient
  • For foreign nationals: 
    • Copy of a valid work permit
    • Copy of Social Insurance Number application receipt (not required for appointments not paid by UBC)
  • For appointments of Canadians or Permanent Residents where the funding is being paid directly to the postdocs and a SIN is not provided, a copy of one of the following: 
    • a Canadian passport
    • birth certificate
    • CRA tax receipt showing SIN
    • PR or citizenship card
• Proof of a Ph.D. (awarded within last five years), M.D. or D.D.S. degree (awarded within last ten years)
  • For candidates who have been awarded a Ph.D., M.D. or D.D.S. degree, provide a copy of the degree
  • For candidates who completed Ph.D. or M.D. or D.D.S. degree requirements but have not been conferred at graduation, provide a copy of the following:
    • Program completion letter from their academic institution
    • Confirmation of the expected graduation or conferral date from the candidate (Reminder: Please follow up with the PDF to obtain a copy of their degree once hired)
• Award confirmation letter (if applicable)

Reappointment Checklist

Documents to be submitted via Workday:

• Signed Reappointment Letter (see Faculty Relation’s offer letter template for PDF appointments)
• Award confirmation letter (if applicable)
• For foreign nationals, proof of legal entitlement to continue working for UBC

Note: Typically, a person may hold PDF appointments at UBC for up to five years. Reappointment of a PDF for more than five years is subject to approval from the Provost. Prior to extending a PDF beyond the five-year period, please submit a request for extension to the Dean, Faculty of Medicine following the Request for Extension Checklist below.

Request for Extension Checklist

Email Assistant Managers, Faculty HR by portfolio:

• A letter from the Department Head/School Director to the Dean to request extension beyond the five-year maximum period (use Template – Request for Extension)
• Current curriculum vitae
• Award confirmation letter (if applicable)

External Resources:

• Faculty Relations information on postdoctoral fellows
• Faculty Relations information on minimum salaries for the purpose of benefits eligibility

Emeritus status is a life-time honourable recognition of long service and contribution to the University.

UBC Senate Criteria

Individuals holding Clinical appointments in the Faculty of Medicine, and those holding Clinical or equivalent Honorary or Adjunct appointments in other Faculties, may be eligible for emeritus status at the time of retirement from active University service if they are recommended by their Deans and Departments and meet the following criteria: 

• have at least 15 years of continuous service;
• hold the rank of Clinical Associate Professor or Clinical Professor or demonstrate a scholarly record that has been reviewed at the Department and Faculty levels according to established university procedures for the equivalent level; and,
• demonstrate service that is strongly identified with the University of British Columbia and deemed worthy of continuing recognition.

 Further information can be found in the UBC Senate Policy on Emeritus Status.

FOM Guidelines

An emeritus appointment is an honorable recognition of long service and contributions to the Faculty of Medicine and it is not automatic.  Where a Partner, Clinical, Honorary or Adjunct Faculty member has completed 15 continuous years of service at the time of retirement from active University service, and where the Faculty member’s service is strongly identified with the University of British Columbia and deemed worthy of continuing recognition, a recommendation for awarding the title of Emeritus may be made by the Dean to the Tributes Committee and ultimately to Senate on the recommendation of the Head/Director.  Each case will be decided on its individual merit. Initiation of this process may be by the appropriate Division Head, University Department Head or School Director and would require approval of the Departmental Committee on Appointments and Promotions. 

Deadlines

The Senate Tributes Committee considers emeritus recommendations 3-4 weeks in advance of the May and December UBC Senate meetings.  Therefore, the Faculty of Medicine submission deadline for emeritus nominations is normally mid-late March and mid-late October. 

Procedure

Checklist – New Emeriti Recommendations

1. If not already initiated, the Department / School initiates HR Business Processes in Workday accompanied by the faculty member’s original retirement notice, to bring their appointment to an end. Please ensure that the faculty member’s current address records are up to date.
2. The Department Head/School Director submits a letter recommending that the individual be awarded emeritus status, as per the criteria outlined in the Senate policy.  This nomination must be accompanied by a copy of the faculty member’s CV. 
3. The submission is reviewed against the criteria, the Dean writes a letter of support to the Senate Tributes Committee, and the nomination package is forwarded to Senate and Curriculum Services. A copy is kept on file at the Dean’s Office.
4. If the recommendation is approved by Senate, and the status is confirmed via notification by Senate and Curriculum Services, the following occur:
   1. Faculty Relations requests that Payroll update the faculty member’s appointment in HRMS to an emeritus job code.
   2. Senate and Curriculum Services updates the Roll of Convocation (UBC Calendar) to include all newly approved emeriti faculty. See: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?page=appendix3
   3. The Registrar sends a letter confirming the new status to the new emeritus faculty member, with cc to Faculty Relations and the Dean of Medicine.  Attached to this letter is a list of Privileges for Professors Emeriti.
   4. The Faculty Affairs Secretary mails a letter of congratulations from the Dean to the individual (cc Department Head / School Director).

Emeritus Post-Retirement Appointments

Emeritus faculty may be appointed into active faculty positions post-retirement.  The following information is taken from the Faculty Relations website regarding Post-Retirement Appointments.

Retired faculty members can be re-hired as a new hire or into a post-retirement appointment under UBC Policy AP1 (formerly Policy #27), Reappointment of Retired or Retiring Members of Faculty (PDF). For more information, please refer to Faculty Relation’s website.  Please review the Checklist – Post-Retirement Appointment + Reappointment when re-hiring an emeritus faculty member. 

FAQs

• Faculty members do not automatically receive Emeritus status at age 65.
• The faculty member needs to have retired from their position at UBC as a faculty member in order to get status.  Retirement from a Health Authority does not necessarily mean that a faculty member has also retired from UBC.  Please contact Faculty Affairs for more information on processing faculty retirements.
• Retroactive requests will be considered with a justification for the request.  In addition to explaining how the candidate meets the criteria, the justification must also explain why the recommendation is coming forward now instead of at the faculty member’s retirement.
• Emeritus status becomes effective on the faculty member’s retirement date.  For example, if a faculty member retires on January 31st, they would become an emeritus faculty member on January 31st.  Status was previously only granted on July 1st or January 1st of each year but this changed when mandatory retirement was abolished in 2007.
• Exceptions to the “15 years of continuing service” eligibility requirement will be considered if suitably justified.  Example:  A clinical faculty member was appointed at UBC for 8 years, left UBC to become a tenure track faculty member at a different institution for 3 years, and then returned to UBC for another 7 years.  This faculty member’s eligibility must be carefully considered and the recommendation from the Department must clearly outline the appointment history and include a justification for the exception.
• Emeritus faculty members may continue to apply for and hold research grants assuming they meet the granting agency’s eligibility criteria and hold a UBC post-retirement appointment.
• The process for awarding emeritus status to Clinical, Partner, Adjunct, or Honorary faculty members is quite different from the process for tenure stream faculty.  Refer to the Emeritus Faculty – Tenure Stream page for the process for tenure stream faculty members.