Princeton faculty retirement program wins award

Princeton University has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for its innovative work in faculty retirement.

Princeton was recognized for demonstrating best practices in the development of a portfolio of retirement programs so that faculty who are eligible for retirement (at least age 55 with at least 10 years of service) will have choices about when and how they want to make the transition to retirement. Princeton also provides support for emeritus faculty who wish to continue their research and scholarship after retirement. A faculty survey conducted by ACE showed levels of satisfaction with Princeton's programs and policies that were the highest among all the awardees. The grant will fund continued development of innovative practices.

"We are delighted that ACE and the Sloan Foundation have recognized the work that we have done over the years to provide positive and constructive transitions to retirement for Princeton faculty members," said Dean of the Faculty David Dobkin, noting that "we are are particularly pleased with the results of our new Faculty Retirement Plan that was instituted two years ago." 

Kathleen Christensen, director of the Working Longer program at the Sloan Foundation, said, "Our intent in funding these awards is to broaden the national conversation and the agenda within higher education to take into account the full scope of the culminating stage of faculty careers. We are hopeful these award-winning institutions can provide examples for our community of thoughtful approaches that can be modeled."