Your Career: Making the Difficult Decision to Retire

Teaching and research aren’t simply what you do but who you are. And it’s not clear who you’d be without them. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. Teaching and research aren’t simply what you do but who you are. And it’s not clear who you’d be without them. The announcement of your retirement should take your colleagues by surprise, until its aptness slowly dawns on them. Ideally you retire while you are still valued by students, and before your record can be tainted by secret faculty speculation about when you will step down. There are many good reasons to retire at the “right” time — whenever that might be for each person. What prevents you? Indecision on this front is deeply human. Retirement planning can be hard because most of us don’t want to face our mortality, and the waning of our gifts. But plenty of other factors also may make it difficult for a faculty member to make the call at the right moment: - The gradual shift over the past few decades from defined benefit (“pension”) to defined contribution (401[k] and 403[b]) retirement plans at colleges and universities has made it more challenging to figure out when you can afford to retire. - For some faculty members the prospect of retiring is fraught because institutional conditions suggest it’s unlikely that you’ll be replaced. Rather than opening up room for a bright young colleague, a retirement may simply shrink the department by a tenure-track line. - Personal factors, of which colleagues may be entirely unaware, come to bear on these decisions. It’s easy to forget in an institutional context that retirement is often a couple or family decision. Continue reading: “[We Need to Talk About Retirement]( by Kevin Dettmar Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Latest Career Advice, Opinion, and News THE REVIEW | OPINION [Reclaiming Academe’s Idealism]( By Joshua Doležal [STORY IMAGE]( Lessons from Václav Havel for a profession in decline. SPONSOR CONTENT | University of South Florida [How a free certificate program connected 135,000 people to one university]( ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [The Provost Files: Those Exacting First Weeks on the Job]( By George Justice [STORY IMAGE]( Prepare for a flood of information and introductions as you transition into a new leadership position. 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FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( [Building a Faculty That Flourishes]( Colleges and universities cannot be successful without vibrant and engaged faculties. Now is the time to figure out sustainable ways to recruit, support, and diversify the faculty. [Order your copy today.]( SPONSOR CONTENT | Microsoft [Cloud computing tools are changing research in exciting ways]( Vast data sets can be analyzed and shared securely, efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of providing the same resources on-site. What we’re reading. Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - An [essay]( in The Atlantic explores why “the old elite spend so much time at work.” - At The Conversation, two faculty members [describe]( their [new research]( which shows “women are better at statistics than they think.” - A [report]( in the Harvard Business Review on another [new study]( says people “make more virtuous choices when using pen and paper.” More Career Resources [Diverse College Administrations for a New Era]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING August 10, 2022 | 2 p.m. ET: Diverse student bodies need diverse college administrations, including presidents and department chairs. This forum will explore how colleges and universities can establish a more inclusive and diverse atmosphere. With Support From Workday. [Register here.]( DATA [What Is the Share of Minority Instructors at Colleges With the Most Full-Time Faculty Members?]( [STORY IMAGE]( A look at changes in average annual percentages of full-time instructors who were members of specific racial and ethnic groups in 2018, 2019, and 2020, by degree-granting college. PRESIDENTIAL PAY [Executive Compensation at Public and Private Colleges]( By Julia Piper and Brian O’Leary [STORY IMAGE]( The Chronicle’s database includes the latest salary information, plus years of data, on more than 1,700 chief executives at more than 600 private colleges and nearly 290 public universities and systems. A SPECIAL REPORT [The Trends Report 2022]( [STORY IMAGE]( The past year has shaken loose many of higher ed’s conceptual mainstays — about the future face of the student body, the nature of faculty jobs, what a campus should look like. We hope this report will help you and your campus prepare for what’s next. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [BAYLOR SCHOOL OF EDUCATION FACULTY POSITIONS AVAILABLE]( Baylor University [Assistant or Associate professor levels in operations management]( The University of Chicago Booth School of Business [Search other jobs.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2022 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037