Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a Designation

The award of Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a is made to individuals under the following conditions:

1. The honorary award shall normally be granted upon or shortly after retirement, regardless of rank, and continue for life. The award shall carry no duties or obligations on the part of the individual or on the part of the University. 
2. The faculty member shall have had a distinguished record in teaching and research in the University for a period of time, normally 15 years. 

Those who are awarded Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a will continue to receive the services and privileges extended to all retired faculty members. Additional privileges are at the discretion of the appropriate Department Chair and Faculty Dean, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.  

Nomination Process

The recommendation for this honour shall rest with the Department which, through its Chair, will submit to the Dean a nomination form with the proposal that a retired or retiring member of faculty be given the honour. Having approved the recommendation, the Dean shall forward it to the Faculty’s Honorary Degree Committee which will, in turn, forward it to the Senate Nominating Committee for Honorary Degrees. If the Senate Committee accepts the recommendation, the Committee shall forward it to the Senate; if Senate approves, it will recommend to the President that the Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a award be granted. The designation of a person as “Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a” will normally be conferred at Convocation.

The number of individuals honored with this distinction in any one year should not normally exceed 10% of the annual number of full-time regular faculty member retirements, averaged over the past five years.

Selection Criteria

The following criteria will be used when assessing nominees’ “distinguished record in teaching and research”:

• Remarkable impact on the University of Waterloo;
• Exceptional scholarly achievement and international pre-eminence in a particular field or fields of knowledge, sustained over a substantial career;
• Excellence and/or innovation in teaching and learning, and an outstanding reputation in student supervision, mentorship and educational leadership; and
• Exemplary commitment to the mission, vision and values of the University of Waterloo.

It is not expected that every nominee meets all of the selection criteria listed above, this list is meant to serve as a guide for nominators and assessors.

Awards of Honour in Absentia 

Normally, an individual invited to a Convocation ceremony to receive an honorary degree, the distinction “Distinguished Professor Emeritus/a” or the title “Honorary Member of the University” is expected to be present. However, under truly exceptional circumstances where an individual is prevented from attending because of accident or infirmity and where it is not practicable for the award to be made at a subsequent Convocation, the honour may be awarded in absentia.

Approved by Senate, March 21, 1994
Delegation of authority to President approved by the Board of Governors, March 18, 1996
Listing of names in University Calendars removed, July 2003
Clarification to nomination timing approved by Senate, October 2009
Limiting number of distinctions, adding Selection Criteria, and introducing nomination from, approved by Senate, June 2024