The Aging Professoriate & Faculty Buyout Packages: What Your Institution Can and Should Be Doing to Prepare

What do Penn State University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of North Dakota, the University of Wisconsin system, and the University of Missouri all have in common besides being large, public, comprehensive universities? Each of them has rolled out over a limited time a voluntary faculty buyout package to some of their eligible full-time faculty. Meanwhile, private institutions such as Gonzaga University, Loyola University New Orleans, Nova Southeastern University, Oberlin College, Valparaiso University, and William Peace University have also offered certain qualified, full-time professors voluntary separation offers over the last couple of years. The aging faculty, almost a cliché, has indeed been a topic covered in both the academic literature and mainstream press. The trend of professors continuing to work into their “golden years” is not going away. In higher education, more elder professors simply means fewer younger assistant professors right out of graduate school being hired and prepared to take over the many academic roles when senior faculty retire. As more professors near retirement age and realize the insufficiency of their financial preparedness, more are likely to choose continued employment. Please join Dr. Robert Hill as he outlines proactive and strategic measures to address issues surrounding the aging professoriate and provides ways to make this impending reality a “win-win” for the entire institution