Eligible University of Nebraska faculty will have the opportunity to choose early retirement under a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program being offered this fall.
Through the program, tenured faculty who are 62 or older with at least 10 years of service to the University of Nebraska system will be able to retire and receive a lump-sum payment equivalent to 80 percent of their base salary. Approximately 400 faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney are eligible to participate in the VSIP.
“It’s the right thing to do to periodically offer a flexible retirement option to our most senior faculty, who have collectively given many decades of service to our university and contributed enormously to our upward trajectory,” Charlie Bicak, UNK senior vice chancellor for Academic/Student Affairs said in a Monday letter to faculty announcing the program.
“Based on past experience, we know a number of faculty may be considering retirement, and the VSIP gives those faculty an attractive option, while also creating flexibility in the university’s budget to reinvest in priorities or plan for future uncertainty.”
The university is accepting VSIP applications until Dec. 3, 2019. The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic/Student Affairs office will notify faculty by Dec. 16 whether their applications have been accepted. Details on the VSIP are also available on the university’s website.
Bicak said UNK’s strategic goals present deans with some dramatic opportunities for new investment and growth. In order to help respond to the challenges as well as the opportunities, decisions on how to invest new VSIP dollars will be made in a collaborative process involving deans and campus leadership.
Faculty with questions are invited to contact Megan Fryda, Director of Academic Resources, at 308.865.8934 or frydamm@unk.edu
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