“I think when it comes to a total stop, and I’m not even sure when that’s going to be, I think by then we’ll know what it’s like to be retired.” Education professor Shirley Dixon was one of six full-time faculty that retired in the spring of 2014. Along with Dixon, Dr. Joseph Roma- no, Professor Adeline Bethany, Professor Carol Serotta, Dr. Brian Metz and Professor Ruby Remley all said goodbye to their full-time status as
.As part of what can be considered a year of transition, according to long-time colleague to Dr. Sharon Schwarze, “The college put together a really good retirement package.”
The package was the deciding factor for those faculty members who were unsure of whether or not they wished to retire, confirmed Schwarze. “That was my foundation when that came through,” Dixon said.
Since there is no mandatory age for college professors to retire, many try to maintain their position for as long as they can. “We need to retire because we need to have a turnover of younger professors,” Schwarze said.
One incentive provided by the new retirement package, however, allowed for the privilege of retired professors to continue teaching part-time.
Out of the six retirees, five are remaining on campus as part-time faculty.
This group of educators collectively spent 200 years as Cabrini faculty. Of those, Dr. Romano gave the longest term of service, beginning at the college in 1960, three years after its establishment.
“He’s a great recruiter for philosophy majors. We get half of our majors from Dr. Romano’s introduction to philosophy class,” Schwarze said.
As far as the transition from full-time to part-time, the change has not exactly hit home as of now. “I don’t think it’s really hit any of us yet,” Dixon admitted.
Dr. Schwarze, who remains full-time, reacted to this change by saying, “This is a big year for Cabrini in terms of transition with losing six professors, hiring a new president and bringing on board new administration. It should be interesting to see.”