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General Information & Resources for Planning | Faculty Retirement Incentive Program (FRIP)

General Information & Resources for Planning 

Faculty members considering retirement, or wanting to know more about their options for retirement, are encouraged to contact Saari Greylock and Mary Cote (see above) for information or to discuss possible timelines and scenarios. In addition, faculty are encouraged to: 

• Review the Leaving College Employment page, which provides detailed information about benefits, insurance, and other important considerations when preparing to transition to retirement.
  
  
• Review information about the College’s Retirement Plans.  
  
  • Consider talking with the College’s Fidelity Retirement Planner (and/or the account representative for American Century or Vanguard, if applicable).

• Consult independent financial advisors, tax consultants, or accountants of the faculty member’s choice. 
  • The College’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide free consultations with professionals for employees on a wide range of issues, including planning for retirement. 
  • Faculty who are eligible for the FRIP program (see below) may be reimbursed up to $500 for retirement counseling services provided by a Certified Financial Planner, attorney, or accountant. Faculty do not need to commit to retiring to take advantage of this one-time benefit. Please contact Saari for more information. 

Conversations on possible retirement are considered private and confidential; neither the dean’s office nor HR will share information about such conversations unless the faculty member gives express permission. After a retirement agreement is signed, they will only share the date of the upcoming retirement and other non-sensitive information necessary for departmental planning. 

When a faculty member makes the decision to retire, Saari will provide the retirement agreement documentation and arrange for the formal joint signing of the agreement in person with the Dean.

Faculty Retirement Incentive Program (FRIP)

Tenured faculty who will be at least 55 years old at the time of retirement and have served at the College for at least 15 years are eligible to apply for the Faculty Retirement Incentive Program (FRIP).  

º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ FRIP Summary 2023-03

The Program is managed by the Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs; please contact Saari Greylock for full details of the current FRIP policy, confirmation of individual eligibility, and to discuss possible participation. 

Requests for participation should be submitted to the Dean for Academic Affairs by August 15 in the calendar year prior to the intended shift to half-time status OR the intended date of retirement, whichever would occur first. Retirements are expected to take place on June 30." Acceptance of any individual’s participation will be at the discretion of the College. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend or end the Program at its discretion. 

Faculty members who are ineligible for FRIP or do not wish to apply to the Program are still encouraged to meet with Saari to discuss options and ask questions for their retirement planning.

Spaces and Materials | Technology and Email | Funding

The Dean’s Office will offer an in-person information session each spring for faculty who are about to retire. Staff will discuss the topics below and will welcome any questions from faculty. 

However, faculty are strongly encouraged to review the information on this page on their own as well, ideally as they approach the six-month mark prior to their retirement date, in order to make timely preparations for the transition. Faculty are also welcome to reach out to individuals noted to request one-on-one conversations as needed. 

Spaces and Materials

Offices, Labs, Studios: Faculty must vacate their office and other campus spaces (e.g. lab or studio) on or before their final day of employment. At least six months before retirement, faculty should consult with the Associate Dean for Academic Administration, Mike Ranen (mranen@bowdoin.edu), regarding their office and research space and any needs related to their departure. Assuming a standard June 30 retirement date, office and lab/studio spaces need to be vacant and ready for occupancy no later than July 1. 

Equipment & Supplies: All equipment purchased with college funds or grant funds is the property of the College. The Associate Dean for Academic Administration will work with the retiring faculty member, department chair/program director, and representatives from Facilities (including Environmental Health and Safety if necessary) to consult on redistributing equipment and supplies to others in the department or college, storing equipment or supplies, or properly disposing of equipment or supplies. Please note that additional processes may be required for equipment purchased with federal grant funds. 

Records retention or destruction: The faculty member should work with the College Archivist, staff from the Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs, and their academic department coordinator to determine what files and records need to be kept by the department, what files and records need to be sent to archives, what is confidential, and what can be securely discarded in compliance with the College’s . These conversations may also include the department chair / program director and the Associate Dean for Academic Administration. Please remember to address both physical/hardcopy files and (e.g. those stored in email, Sharepoint/OneDrive/Teams, on the Microwave shared network drive, in Blackboard / Canvas, and in other third-party systems). Please contact the College Archivist with any questions on or to request either transfer or secure destruction of confidential records. 

Technology and Email

Emeriti email accounts: As a courtesy in recognition of their service to the College, faculty who are granted emeriti status are given new º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ email addresses for ongoing personal and/or scholarly use after their employment at the College ends.  

Emeriti accounts are granted upon confirmation from the Board of Trustees or at the direction of the President's Office or Human Resources when a Trustee vote is still pending. Emeriti email accounts should be treated as "personal" accounts and should not be used to conduct the business of the College or to retain sensitive information relating to the business of the College. It is important for retiring faculty to review the following policies with regards to their continued use of a º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ account and to contact the with questions: 

Political Activity Policy 

Information Technology (IT) follows the guidelines below for provisioning and managing emeriti accounts, once emeriti status is confirmed with the President’s Office or HR: 

Emeriti Account Process 

1.   IT provides the following for emeriti faculty accounts 

1. A º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ emeriti email address. 
2. Access to services provided by a Microsoft 365 A1 license, which includes email, OneDrive, and the online/web versions of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc.) 
3. If an emeriti account is inactive (not logged into) for greater than 1 year, the account will be disabled. 

2.  Email account process

1. IT will help provision a NEW email account for emeriti faculty with an address that they can choose (subject to approval by IT, in consultation with Academic Affairs as needed). 
2. Faculty members can work with the to set up their new emeriti account ahead of their date of retirement. 
3. The day after of the faculty member’s employment with the College ends, their  employee email account will be disabled and converted to a mailbox (i.e. static storage), with all of its content, attached to their new emeriti account. 
4. IT will direct any email sent to the old employee email address to the new address. 
5. Emeriti faculty will have 6 months from this point to move content from their employee email into their new emeriti account, being mindful of the above policies for management of College records and data. 
6. After 6 months, the employee account mailbox will be removed from the emeriti account. 

3.   If a faculty member is re-hired as an employee of the College at any time, they will be provisioned a NEW employee account that will be active at the same time as their emeriti account and should be used for conducting all College business related to their employment 

1. This new employee account would only be expected to be available during the time of their employment 

 Computer Equipment: As required by law, all hardware and software purchased with College funds or grant funds awarded to the College are the property of the College. However, emeriti faculty are granted the special opportunity to “purchase” their º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ-owned computer if they wish, subject to IT approval. Normally, computers, monitors, keyboards, and other peripherals may be purchased; iPads may not be; newly purchased/replaced computers may not be eligible. There is no outright purchase cost, but the faculty member will have income tax withheld on the depreciated value of the items in their final paycheck. 

Faculty who anticipate being granted emeriti status and are interested in purchasing their computer equipment must email their request to Sarah Morgan, Technical Purchasing Manager (smorgan@bowdoin.edu), and Saari Greylock (s.greylock@bowdoin.edu) at least two months prior to the date of their retirement, specifying the precise items they wish to keep. Sarah will approve or deny the items in question and will provide instructions for bringing purchased computers/technology to IT to have them prepared for personal ownership and use. Faculty must comply with these instructions prior to their date of retirement. Sarah and Saari will work with Payroll to ensure the appropriate tax on the items is withheld. 

All computer/technology equipment or peripherals that faculty do not retain must be returned to IT prior to the date of retirement.

Funding

Benefits: The faculty member should make an appointment with Mary Cote to review benefit plans and ensure that they are making any necessary preparations well in advance of their upcoming retirement. 

External grants: The faculty member should work with the Grants Office and Office of Sponsored Research to make sure that all external grants are finalized and closed out upon retirement, that reporting requirements have been met, and to notify the funding agency with any questions or concerns. Please note that additional processes may be required for dealing with equipment purchased with federal grant funds. Grants that are ongoing must be transferred to a new PI as of the faculty member’s date of retirement. 

Internal grants: The faculty member should submit all final expenses against FDC / CoTCP awards, research and professional development grants, or other internal faculty grants at least three weeks prior to the date of retirement. Any expenses that take place after the date of retirement (e.g. travel) are nonreimbursable. Please contact Janice Staples (jstaples@bowdoin.edu) or Saari Greylock with questions. 

Retirement Celebrations: The President’s Office will provide up to $500 to support a dinner or other event honoring the faculty member’s retirement (contact: Denise Zavitz, dzavitz@bowdoin.edu). Departments/programs may contribute up to an additional $500 from their operating budget if resources allow. Endowments, other restricted gifts, and internal faculty research/professional development funding may not be used for such events. The Dean for Academic Affairs also recognizes retiring faculty at the annual end-of-year celebration in May. 

Immediately Prior | After Retirement

Immediately Prior

In the week leading up the date of retirement, the faculty member should make sure to: 

• Check that their office / other campus spaces are cleaned out 
• Bring any approved computer equipment they will retain to IT for imaging 
• Return all other computer equipment/peripherals to IT 
• Return any physical keys to the OneCard Office or their ADC 
• Return their employee ID card to the OneCard Office and obtain their new emeriti ID 
• If they hold a College credit card: submit all pending expenses in Workday and shred their card or return it to the Bursar’s Office 
• Update their home address, primary email, and other contact information in Workday if needed 

After Retirement

Emeriti status: Emeritus/emerita status is an honorary designation for retired persons with a minimum of 25 years of service who have rendered exemplary contributions to º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ as a member of the faculty or staff. The Dean for Academic Affairs nominates eligible retiring faculty for emeriti status; the Board of Trustees approves the granting of emeriti status at the annual May meeting; and emeriti status becomes effective the day after the faculty member’s final day of employment. Emeriti are listed in the College Catalogue and may, at their department/program’s request, continue to be listed on the department/program’s Faculty/Staff page. 

Retiree Health Benefits: Please review HR’s Retiree Benefits webpage for more information on retiree medical benefits and life insurance options. Contact Mary Cote (mcote@bowdoin.edu) with questions. 

Software Licenses & Other Access: Emeriti faculty will have access to a personal OneDrive (cloud file storage) account associated with their new emeriti email account and will be granted an A1 license to use Microsoft Office. Emeriti also continue to have full access to all scholarly databases and institutional subscriptions managed by the Library. 

Emeriti do not have access to the Microwave shared network (J: drive), Blackboard / Canvas, Polaris, JobX, Workday, or other College technology/information systems. IT does not provide technology service support for retired faculty. 

As a reminder, emeriti will have access to the contents of their old employee email address for six months after the date of their retirement. 

Building Access: Emeriti faculty may access academic buildings, athletic buildings and facilities, Smith Union, and the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library during normal business hours as appropriate. They may request access to the branch libraries. They do not retain after-hours access and are not granted offices or research space.  

Library access: Emeriti faculty retain full access to the Library’s physical and digital collections, including borrowing privileges. They retain access to the Faculty Study Commons in Hawthorne-Longfellow (OneCard required for entry) and may apply for a reserved faculty carrel in the Commons on an annual basis (email acadaffs@bowdoin.edu for information). 

Athletics: Emeriti faculty and their spouses may use College athletic facilities at no charge. Non-emeriti retired faculty may purchase athletic passes. 

Campus Events: Emeriti are invited to attend campus events including the Academic Affairs End of Year Reception, Commencement, and the New Faculty and Staff Reception, and may attend Commencement in full academic regalia. Emeriti are of course welcome to attend all public events, lectures, performances, and athletic events. 

Future Employment: Persons who have retired from the College are ineligible to be rehired or paid in any capacity by the College for at least six months. Retired faculty/emeriti are no longer employees of the College and therefore may not teach courses, serve as advisors, direct independent studies or honors projects, or engage in other work that is normally part of a faculty member’s service or teaching responsibilities. 

Retirees/emeriti who have interest in working at the College as a casual employee may apply for jobs and be considered for re-hire after a break in service of greater than six months. In the unusual event that the Dean for Academic Affairs asks a retired faculty member to teach a course or engage in other teaching duties, the individual would be offered a time-limited adjunct appointment. In the unusual event that the Dean for Academic Affairs asks a retired faculty member to engage in non-teaching duties, the individual would normally be offered a time-limited casual employee appointment, in consultation with HR. Please note that re-employment may affect access to retirement investment accounts during that time; contact Mary Cote in HR with questions. 

Staying in Touch: The Dean’s Office warmly requests that retired faculty share updated contact information if they move, change primary email addresses, etc. Updates can be emailed to acadaff@bowdoin.edu.