In pursuing phased retirement option for faculty, US institution considers “Terminal Sabbatical”

Chronicle of Higher Education writer Vimal Patel discusses how the idea of a “Terminal Sabbatical,” a form of phased retirement that would see eligible faculty members take a one-year sabbatical from which they retire without returning to the faculty, could solve concerns around faculty who are not retiring. These “terminal sabbaticals” are reportedly hoped to encourage more professors to retire by providing an easier way to phase out of institutional life, solving the complications posed by the removal of mandatory retirement for colleges and new PhDs on the job market. "Faculty are fearful of losing their identity," says Janette Brown, executive director of the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education. “Institutions need to look at things differently so that retirement is not like stepping off the edge of a cliff.” Chronicle (Subscription Required)