Letter from Iris Litt, Stanford Emeriti/ae Council Chair

Welcome 

Today’s Stanford Emeriti, both faculty and staff, are a more vibrant, healthy and intellectually active than ever before. Moreover, they have contributed to the greatness of Stanford over their tenure and represent the University’s memory. They chose to retire for a variety of reasons (e.g., health, to care of loved ones, to pursue entrepreneurial enterprises and hobbies, to travel, to write, etc.) Whatever their reasons for retiring, most miss their students, teaching and/or mentoring! The billets they vacated have been filled by younger faculty; but the void in terms of wisdom and experience has yet to be filled. 

We suggest that today’s Stanford Emeriti represent a yet untapped resource for the University, a group of teachers and mentors for faculty (especially new junior faculty and those at the other end of the spectrum who are considering retirement), students and staff. 

That said, we know very little about them and what they perceive to be their goals and needs. We do know from the literature and experience (particularly of Stanford’s Center on Longevity and the Distinguished Careers Institute) that there are guidelines for enhancing their longevity. 

Your Emeriti Council is dedicated to supporting our retired colleagues and will soon embark in a data collection process that will allow us to design strategies to support this valuable Stanford resource. Please look for a questionnaire coming to your email address.

For now, this website will attempt to keep you informed about our activities and provide a link to other valuable campus resources.

Best,

Iris F. Litt, MD

2022 Emeriti/ae Council Members: Iris Litt (Chair), David Abernethy, Margaret Ann Fidler, Curt Frank, Bill Gould, Chuck Holloway, Pat Jones, Roberta Katz, Mike Kirst, Ray Levitt, Michele Marincovich, Ellen Porzig, John Rickford, Cecilia Ridgeway and Susan Schofield.