Faculty Renewal and Diversity Depends on Retirements

There is concern within the UC hierarchy about faculty renewal, i.e., new hires replacing older faculty, and the related issue of faculty diversity - which depends on having new faculty FTE to fill.  The chart above refers to UC-Berkeley, but a similar chart for UCLA would undoubtedly show the same thing.  The early retirement incentive programs of the early 1990s (the three"VERIPs") dropped the number of older faculty (who took advantage of the incentives).  Since that time, the faculty has tended to age.  Note that the impression that the pension plan is threatened, even though not a reality for any current older faculty, may play a part in reluctance to retire.  The same concern about retiree health benefits - more of a reality - may also play a part.

Note further that even if aging of the faculty were somehow reversed, a second element in renewal and diversity involves recruitment and retention of new faculty as replacements for retirees.  The current lag in faculty pay (including benefits) relative to comparison institutions creates a challenge on that side of the equation.