Inside Iowa State

March 10, 2006

P&S Council

Council renews discussion on early retirement incentives

by Anne Krapfl

The Professional and Scientific Council has taken a first step in bringing back an early retirement incentive (ERI) program for faculty and P&S staff. At its March 2 meeting, the council approved a program proposal and a motion asking that university administrators use the proposal as a starting point for discussion about an ERI program. The end goal is an ERI program that the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, would approve.

The council's motion also invites the Faculty Senate to participate in the campus process of developing an ERI program.

The university's most recent early retirement program ended on June 30, 2002. (Eligible employees on that date had until June 30, 2004, to request early retirement.)

As proposed by the P&S committee, faculty, administrators and P&S staff who are at least 59 1/2 years old with at least 15 years of service would be eligible. Proposed incentives include (employer's share) paid health and dental insurance up to Medicare eligibility, dollar credit for unused sick leave to help pay employee's share of premiums and TIAA-CREF contributions for up to three years.

According to data from the Office of Institutional Research, 13 percent of faculty and P&S staff are 60 years old or older. An estimated 221 faculty and 111 P&S staff would be eligible to participate in the program, as proposed.

The ERI proposal was sent to President Gregory Geoffroy, vice presidents Warren Madden and Ben Allen, associate vice president Carla Espinoza and Faculty Senate president Claudia Baldwin.

Presidential searches

Council members also approved a resolution directed at the board of regents that addresses presidential searches at Iowa's three regent universities. The motion "encourages" the board to adopt a search process "that includes broad representation of the university community including faculty, staff, students and alumni." The motion follows a similar resolution presented to the regents last month from the professional staff, student body and faculty at the University of Iowa. That resolution asks the regents to continue to use the search process the university has used for 40 years in which a campus search committee is supported by an executive search firm and the board.

Iowa is about to launch a search to find a successor to president David Skorton.

The search committee that will find the successor to University of Northern Iowa President Robert Koob includes three faculty, three staff, one student, one alumnus, one community member and four regents. Koob announced his retirement in October.

In other council business:

• The council endorsed the "Principles of Community" written by the Principles Commission of the Government of the Student Body. The six principles (respect, purpose, cooperation, freedom from discrimination, honest and respectful expression of ideas, and richness of diversity) are intended to serve as guidelines for interactions among and expected behavior of all members of the ISU community.
• Assistant provost Ellen Rasmussen, council liaison to the provost's office, announced that the president and provost have approved the council's February request for an annual allocation to the home department of the council president, to help recover the time and work lost due to council duties. The amount of $15,000 annually will begin in FY07, she said, and be evaluated regularly to assess whether it's making a difference. P&S staff have been reluctant to seek the council president post due to the time commitment and the hardship it places on the president's unit.
• The nomination deadline for the Regents Award for Staff Excellence has been extended to March 17. More information about the award is online at http://www.pscouncil.iastate.edu/documents/RegentsAward.rtf.

The council's proposal for an ERI program extends eligibility to faculty, administrators and P&S staff who are at least 59 1/2 years old with at least 15 years of service. Proposed incentives include (employer's share) paid health and dental insurance up to Medicare eligibility, dollar credit for unused sick leave to help pay employee's share of premiums and TIAA-CREF contributions for up to three years.