Retired Professors: Nuisances or Important Resources?

As Boomer professors begin to wind down their full time participation in academic departments, keeping an ear out for the best ways to manage them in retirement is not a bad idea, so we're sharing this article from The Chronicle of Higher Education with you:

Certainly, the dean who asked for advice on "handling" her retired faculty members had a point: Some professors do interfere in departmental business long after they retire, attempting to exercise control over policies and practices in which they no longer have a stake. As a dean, you need to deal with those folks on an individual basis.

But in my experience, the vast majority of emeritus professors genuinely wish to remain involved in appropriate and productive ways. I, for one, intend to keep them close.