Like several of his colleagues, retirement is not retirement in the traditional sense.  Robert P. Biller remains an active member of the USC community as a member of the Retired Faculty Association, for which he served as president in 2006–07.  In this position, he worked closely with the USC Emeriti Center to create a greater understanding about retirement issues for retirees and for those getting ready to retire.  He continues to serve on the Emeriti Center's Executive Committee and participates in numerous projects and events.  During 2007-08, Bob is serving on the Academic Senate and its Faculty Environment Committee as well as the university's Committee on Academic Policies and Programs.  His goal is to emphasize the importance of retirees and to draw the university's attention to this invaluable resource.  He also remains a consultant to the director of the Skirball Center in West Los Angeles, where he has volunteered for more than twenty years, and is a Fellow of the California Council on Science and Technology.  Although he is still running a full-time schedule, he does what he enjoys doing most and declines the unenjoyable.  For Bob Biller, this is the best part of retirement—being active because he wants to be, not because he has to!

Bio

Dr. Robert P. Biller (Professor Emeritus, School of Policy, Planning, and Development) came to USC in 1976 as the Dean of Public Administration.  He went on to serve in several other positions including Vice President for External Affairs, Vice President for Undergraduate Affairs, and Executive Vice Provost.  In 1993 he returned to the School of Public Administration where he taught mainly freshman courses and then helped to merge the School of Public Administration with the School of Urban Development, which then became the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.  After the development of the school, he served as its interim dean from 1998–2000.  Among other accomplishments, he was able to establish an endowment for the School of Public Administration and reinstate the production of the campus course catalog in the mid-1980s after a seventeen-year gap in publication.  He received USC's Presidential Medallion in 1998.  He retired from his full-time status in 2001.  He and his wife, Yvonne, still live in La Cañada, California.

Lessons Learned

Click here to read lessons learned that Dr. Biller shares with prospective as well as current retirees.