Aging, an often-neglected aspect of diversity in universities, is an important issue, as the rate of people working who are 75 and older is growing faster than the rate for any other age group. The present sequential explanatory mixed-method study explored 129 older online faculty's attitudes and opinions on work and retirement in an online survey…

Recent reports confirm that the European Higher Education Area is conditioning the satisfaction of Spanish faculty members, resulting in a greater number of early retirements. The present study, framed within the context of the research, development and innovation project 'Fuga de Talentos: Un estudio sobre los motivos que han condicionado a…

In the UK a 'crisis' has been manufactured around the so-called baby boomer generation. It has been claimed that this demographic (those born between 1946 and 1964) have benefitted from supportive public policies throughout their lives and are still continuing to access advantages but at some cost to younger generations. For example, policies that…

This chapter reviews discourses about "senior" and retired faculty. These discourses suggest a deficit or burden-based view that shapes the values and practices of faculty and department chairs. Yet retired faculty can be valuable resources and help with teaching, service, and research. A process for changing departmental views to create…

Receiving mentoring is associated with lasting career benefits ; however, less is known about long-term career gains for mentors. A national sample of retired academics were surveyed to examine associations between past mentoring behaviors and current evaluations of their careers. Participants (N = 277) were on average 73.6 (SD = 6.2) years old…

This study is a pioneer study examining the significance of retirement in terms of lost investments and outcomes. Research findings on the output of academic faculty and on measures of excellence in higher education indicate that upon retirement the academic institution as an organization loses not only faculty who are still capable of…

Retirement is now considered a process rather than a single event. Pathways to retirement are evolving and the retirement experiences of academics are becoming increasingly relevant given the aging academic workforce in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide. Academic retirement studies highlight that most academics continue to work in…

This study is a pioneer study examining the effects of personal and occupational background variables on the attitude of faculty members to an obligatory retirement age in academia. Previous studies on performance measures of academic faculty in research, teaching, academic administration, and contribution to the community, testified to…

The purpose of this paper is to find out what academics do when approaching retirement, and why; as well as to reflect on the process and consequences of reaching a retirement decision -- for themselves, the university system, and the wider community. Our study concentrates on baby boomers, as this large cohort starts to retire or become eligible…

This is an interpretive-descriptive analysis of responses to 41 open ended questionnaires returned by academics working beyond normal retirement age. The sample consisted mainly of academics from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The research addressed the question of what motivates some academics to continue working beyond the…

Little is known about the impact of the end of mandatory retirement on professors over the long term. This follow-up study investigated the ten-year experience of professors who chose not to retire from a major research university after the elimination of the age 70 mandatory retirement in 1994. The initial interview study was conducted in 1998…

A growing proportion of the nation's professors are at the same point in their career: still working, but with the end of their careers in sight. Their tendency to remain on the job as long as their work is enjoyable--or, during economic downturns, long enough to make sure they have enough money to live on in retirement--has led the professoriate…

"The graying of the professoriat," a catchphrase that refers to the increase in the number of full-time faculty working beyond the traditional retirement age of 65, is sparking concern in colleges and universities. The trend is affecting four- and two-year schools and raising questions about the teaching effectiveness, productivity, and vitality…

This article shares a reframing of lifelong learning beyond a formal career. Like many of his peers, after 40 years in postsecondary education, the author has moved beyond his most recent full-time work teaching in an adult education graduate program to emeritus faculty status. In this article, he shares his experience moving into the next phase…

Professor Peter Jarvis has spent over 30 years researching, thinking and writing about some of the key and enduring issues in education. He has contributed well over 30 books and 200 papers and chapters in books on learning theory, adult education and learning, continuing professional education, nurse education, primary school education, distance…