Later career is a special time in the faculty career arc. For many faculty it is a time for reflection on career goals and consolidation of research strands. It can be a time to change teaching and service assignments to focus on those activities which are most rewarding and in which the wisdom of a long university career is a particular asset. Mentorship becomes a particularly rewarding experience at this career stage. Later career can also be a time to try new things, without some of the constraints and pressures that faculty tend to experience earlier in their careers.
Later career is also a time when many faculty start thinking about and planning for retirement. For many faculty, retirement offers the opportunity to focus on what they love best, as a faculty member, whether that is research, creative activity, mentoring, teaching, advising, or service, without the obligation to engage in the full range of faculty activities. UC Berkeley Pathway to Retirement Agreements offer Senate faculty who are contemplating retirement certainty about the particular shape of their retirement transition. (Faculty with joint appointments at institutions other than UC Berkeley should consult, separately, with those institutions about pre- or post-retirement arrangements.)
OFEW, retirement liaison Sam Davis, and the UC Berkeley Retirement Center are available to consult with late career and retired faculty about the kind of engagement that is most satisfying to each individual.