What is an emeritus professor? The emeritus role means different things at different colleges and universities, but generally it has an elusive, ambiguous quality. It may simply mean that a professor has retired with an honorific title acknowledging many years of service to an institution. Or it may mean that a senior professor has transitioned to a new phase of an academic career, moving from full participation in all faculty roles to modified or scaled-down participation, with more flexibility to choose how he or she stays involved and contributes to the academy. An emeritus professor may be a respected professional elder who remains active in research, occasionally teaches, and mentors students and junior colleagues. Alternatively, emeritus status may be a symbolic but hollow honor that provides no clearly defined rights, responsibilities, or professional opportunities. This article explores significant efforts across the United States to make emeritus status meaningful. More importantly, it examines diverse initiatives to provide retired professors with continuing learning opportunities, a clear identity, and ways to remain productive and purposeful members of their academic communities. (Contains 1 table and 8 resources.)