Quite a few years ago I wrote “A Guide to University Nomenclature“, which included the various titles of academic personnel. Apparently I left out the title I now hold, i.e. “Professor Emeritus”, so I should add something about that!

What does “emeritus” mean? According to Wikipedia it’s an adjective for an honorary title granted to someone who retires from an academic position but is allowed to continue using the previous title. Essentially Professor Emeritus is a professor who is retired, which I did in 2021.

At Waterloo the title of Professor Emeritus is awarded automatically at retirement for faculty who have served at least 15 years. It comes with the following list of benefits: 1) 75% discount on parking passes at the University, 2) … actually that’s it. Come to think of it, all retirees get the same discount whether faculty or staff, so never mind. Any other benefits are negotiable with your former department.

In my case, I still have an office and some lab space because I still manage some research projects and co-supervise some graduate students. Sort of a retirement hobby I guess, since I’m not paid for that. I am currently paid for the Winter 2024 term to teach a course on Air Pollution Control as a “Sessional Lecturer”, since the Chemical Engineering department is short-staffed and didn’t seem to have anyone available to teach it. That’s another role that a Professor Emeritus might fill, if needs arise and they are willing.