Baldwin, R. G., & Zeig, M. J. (2012). Making emeritus matter. Change, 44, 28-34.
“What is an emeritus professor? The emeritus role means different things at different colleges and universities, but generally it has an elusive, ambiguous quality. It may simply mean that a professor has retired with an honorific title acknowledging many years of service to an institution. Or it may mean that a senior professor has transitioned to a new phase of an academic career, moving from full participation in all faculty roles to modified or scaled down participation, with more flexibility to choose how he or she stays involved and contributes to the academy. An emeritus professor may be a respected professional elder who remains active in research, occasionally teaches, and mentors students and junior colleagues. Alternatively, emeritus status may be a symbolic but hollow honor that provides no clearly defined rights, responsibilities, or professional opportunities.” (p. 28)
For the complete article, Baldwin & Zeig, Change, 2012