UC Davis will accelerate and enhance its innovative efforts to help faculty transition to retirement, thanks to a new $100,000 grant from the American Council on Education and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Altogether, the council and foundation honored 15 institutions for best practices in three stages of faculty retirement: developing legacies, transitioning to retirement, and, post-retirement, staying involved in the academic community.

The American Council on Education, with support from the Sloan Foundation, is recognizing those institutions “for creating win-win solutions that involve faculty in meaningful ways before, during and after retirement,” said Gretchen Bataille, the council’s senior vice president for Leadership and Lifelong Learning.

The Sloan Foundation’s Kathleen Christensen said: “Our intent in funding these awards is to broaden the national conversation and the agenda within higher education to take into account the full scope of the culminating stage of faculty careers.

“We are hopeful these award winning institutions can provide examples for our community of thoughtful approaches that can be modeled.”

Transitioning into retirement marks an important phase in a faculty career, said Claire Van Ummersen, senior adviser and project director. “These 15 colleges and universities are to be commended for their recognition of and positive actions in addressing this major milestone.”

More information is available online. The website lists all of the honored colleges and universities, along with summaries of the institutions’ award-winning activities.