Professor emeritus or emerita—the gender-dependent title some faculty members are awarded upon retirement—signals esteem, accomplishment and, often, continued involvement in campus life. But does it have to signal male or female? Professors at two Oregon institutions think that it doesn’t, and that it shouldn’t. So they’re asking their colleagues to consider adopting a gender-neutral alternative. One such idea is “professor emerit.” “Why should the title have anything to do with gender? It’s not a demographic category, it’s a professional title,” said Jennifer Freyd, who retired from the University of Oregon’s psychology department last year and uses the title professor emerit. [ed note: as one who is so designated, I do not object to a gender-neutral title such as emerit, after all, collectively we have gone by the gender-neutral title of professor for much of our careers.]
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/02/02/push-oregon-gender-neutral-retired-faculty-titles
