Retirement in Academia

As a normal part of my duties in research reporting, I had an enjoyable interview/conversation yesterday afternoon with a junior faculty member. An energetic, very bright and motivated young professor, I could see how his infectious enthusiasm might effect students and as well as departmental colleagues. The tone of that experience brought to mind this Chronicle Review post from last month by friend of the blog (and Hofstra U. art faculty member) Laurie Fendrich:

The 1994 law ending mandatory retirement at age 70 for university professors substantially mitigated the problem of age discrimination within universities. But out of this law a vexing new problem has emerged—a graying—yea, whitening—professoriate. The law, which allows tenured faculty members to teach as long as they want—well past 70, or until they’re carried out of the classroom on a gurney—means professors are increasingly delaying retirement past age 70 or even choosing not to retire at all.

Like so much else in American life, deciding when to retire from academe has evolved into a strictly private and personal matter, without any guiding rules, ethical context, or sense of obligation to do what’s best—for one’s students, department, or institution. Only the vaguest questions—and sometimes not even those—are legally permitted. An administrator’s asking, "When do you think you might retire?" can bring on an EEOC complaint or a lawsuit. Substantive departmental or faculty discussions about retirement simply do not occur.

University professors may be more educated than the average American, but now that there’s no mandatory retirement age, their decisions about when to leave prove that they are as self-interested as any of their countrymen. When professors continue to teach past 70, they behave in exactly the same way as when we decide to drive a car on a national holiday. Who among us stops to connect the dots between our decision to drive and a traffic jam, or that traffic jam and global warming?

There's a balance to be had that keeps fresh blood mixing with venerable experience on campus - an important mix for which there exists no formula about getting it just right. Both are crucial, even as they fluxuate, and knowing when to move on and make room for new faculty is arguably one of the great challenges for career academics - and of course not only them. A great, honest appraisal from Fendrich. Food for thought.

Image: No 8, 1952, by Mark Rothko. Oil on canvas, Private collection.