The Case for Research and Publication in Retirement

Abstract

This column examines the role of research and publication by retired faculty from two perspectives: the varying ability according to discipline and the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards of remaining an active scholar. Faculty that depend heavily on university support and working in teams such as many STEM areas and some Social Science disciplines will find it harder to remain active researchers. Humanities faculty with a tradition of individual authorship and dependence upon library resources will face fewer barriers. Fine Arts faculty fall in the middle depending on their area. Few retired faculty will receive extrinsic financial rewards and will lose the indirect rewards from their universities as active researchers. The main intrinsic reward is maintaining their self-image as scholars with the ability to share their knowledge. Faculty may continue to get satisfaction from monitoring their influence from their citation and readership counts. The column also recognizes that some faculty will make the valid decision to give up research and publication to focus on other personal rewards.