Emeritus

For the Scarface album, see Emeritus (album). For Emeritus Senior Living, a provider of assisted living and skilled nursing for seniors, see Emeritus Senior Living.

Emeritus (/ᵻˈmɛrᵻtəs/; feminine emerita or emeritus; plural emeriti (masc.) or emeritae (fem.); abbreviation emer.)" (Latin ēx, "out of", and meritus, "merit"), in its current usage, is a postpositive adjective used to designate a retired professor, pastor, bishop, Pope, president, prime minister, or other professional.

In some cases the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank, but in others it remains a mark of distinguished service, awarded to only a few on retirement. It is also used when a person of distinction in a profession retires or hands over the position, enabling their erstwhile rank to be retained in their title. The term Emeritus does not necessarily signify that a person has relinquished all the duties of their erstwhile position and they may continue to exercise some of them.

Emerere is a compound of the prefix e- (a variant of ex-) meaning "out of" or "from" and merēre meaning "earn". The past participle of emerere is emeritus, and the original meaning is "to serve out, to complete one's service". The female equivalent, emerita (/ɨˈmɛrɨtə/), is also sometimes used, but as is often true of loanwords, the use of the donor language's inflectional system faces limits in the recipient language. Although Latin and some Romance languages inflect professor/professora for men and women, in English professor is not inflected for gender (both men and women use it), and Emeritus is often similarly uninflected.

In academia

In the United States, a full tenured professor who retires from an educational institution in good standing may be given the title "professor emeritus" regardless of gender. The title "professor emerita" is sometimes used for women. In some systems and institutions the rank is bestowed on all professors who have retired in good standing, while at others it needs a special act or vote. Professors emeritus may draw a large percentage of their former salary as pension and, depending on local circumstances, may retain office space or other privileges. The word is used either as a postpositional adjective (e.g., "professor emeritus"), or as a prepositional adjective (e.g., "emeritus professor"). The concept has in some places been expanded to include tenured associate professors or non-tenure-track faculty.

In the United Kingdom and most other parts of the world, the term "emeritus professor" is given only to a person of outstanding merit who had full professorial status before he or she retired. The possession of a PhD or other higher degree, or even full professorial status, is not always sufficient for calling oneself "emeritus professor" upon retirement. The term "Professor Emeritus" is also recognised in the UK. The word is capitalized when it forms part of a title which is capitalized. Oxbridge colleges will appoint notable fellows who have retired "Emeritus Fellow".

Other uses

When a diocesan bishop or auxiliary bishop retires, the word "emeritus" is added to his former title, i.e., "Archbishop Emeritus of ...", "Bishop Emeritus of ...", or "Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of ..." Examples of usage are: "The Most Reverend (or Right Reverend) John Jones, Bishop Emeritus of Anytown"; and "His Eminence Cardinal James Smith, Archbishop Emeritus of Anycity". The term "Bishop Emeritus" of a particular see can apply to several people, if the first lives long enough. The sees listed in the 2007 Annuario Pontificio as having more than one (Arch)Bishop Emeritus included Zárate-Campana, Villavicencio, Versailles, and Uruguaiana. There were even three Archbishops Emeriti of Taipei. The same suffix was applied to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on his retirement.

Since 2001, the honorary title of president pro tempore emeritus has been given to a Senator of the minority party who has previously served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate. The position has been held by Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina) (2001-2003), Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) (2003-2007), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) (2007-2009), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) (2015-present).

It is also commonly used in business and nonprofit organizations to denote perpetual status of the founder of an organization or individuals who moved the organization to new heights as a former key member on the board of directors (e.g., chairman emeritus; director emeritus; president of the board emeritus).

See also

• Professors emeriti in the United States
• President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate
• Diocesan bishop (bishop emeritus in the Catholic Church)
• Pope Emeritus

References

• Emeritus, New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd edition), 2005.
• Emeritus, Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Online), 2006.
• Emeritus, Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary (3rd edition), 1997.