With budget cuts just around the bend, the University could have another problem on its hands: a larger-than-usual number of faculty retiring at the end of next academic year.
The University will lose 32 staff members to retirement after 2011-2012, with nine faculty members on the phased retirement program. This is a slight rise from previous years, during which about 26 staffers retired annually.
Retirement is something most people plan for months, even years, in advance. Some people plan based on the economy, and some plan on retiring at a certain age. Others just follow their instinct, such as Marie Ministero, who works in facilities operations for Campus Enterprises.
“Retiring is not something I really wanted to do. I heard rumors about changes that might be coming and reductions in benefits for retirees,” Ministero said. “After all the time I dedicated to the University, I was not going out with one bit of reduction, if I could help it.”
Rather than wait on a possible reduction in her benefits, Ministero was proactive in stepping down.
“I never investigated fully what the reduction could be,” she said. “I acted on pure instinct. It has never failed me yet.”
Warwick Arden, provost and executive vice chancellor, said he does not know of any particular reason for the increased number of retirees this year.
“[The number of retirees] was lower the last couple years with the really bad economic times, not just for academia, but in general. Folks were delaying retirement until the economy picked up.” Arden said. “We’re starting to see a slight uptake, but it’s just speculation at this point in time.”
Tom Younce, chief of Campus Police, planned on retiring in February 2011, but he ended up delaying his retirement until this summer.
“My wife retired this past year, and, originally, I had planned on retiring in February. However, when the budget issues arose in the fall, I felt it would not be fair to the University, members of the department, and [for] a new person, to struggle with the critical decisions that would have to be made,” Younce said.
With budget cuts looming, and staff cuts weighing heavily on the scale, Arden was noncommittal on whether these soon-to-be vacant positions would be filled in time for the 2012-2013 academic year.
“We can’t answer that yet. The driver on that is going to be the budget, and we won’t know what the budget is going to be until around July,” Arden said. “We’re being asked to plan for as much as 15 percent cuts. There’s no way we can bear a 15 percent cut without affecting those positions. It will probably be an individual college or department decision.”
Despite cuts, some positions are guaranteed to be filled in place of the retirees, such as chief of Campus Police.
“By July 1, all critical budget decisions should be made and my replacement should be named,” Younce said.
Ministero said she is curious what the future will bring once she retires.
“Is there life after N.C. State? Well, I will find out soon, won’t I?” Ministero said.
