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…

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…

"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…

Addresses the issue of "uncapping" in institutions of higher education. Notes that, beginning January 1, 1994, chronological age will no longer be a legally acceptable cause for dismissal of tenured faculty 40 years of age and older. Discusses the governance problems expected to result from this change in federal law. (Author/BH)

Until the beginning of 1994, federal law permitted mandatory retirement of tenured faculty at age 70. The Committee on Mandatory Retirement in Higher Education, formed by the National Research Council, was charged by Congress to examine potential effects on colleges, universities, and faculty members of ending the exemption for tenured faculty…

A university needs to put to best use the experience, wisdom, and capacities for reflective and integrative thinking that can be found among those older faculty that have been previously forced to retire. Many older academics can do a lot to fill gaps in interdisciplinary and problem-oriented research. (MLW)

Findings of three reports on the potential impact of age 70 mandatory retirement legislation on the arts and sciences faculties of institutions belonging to the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) are summarized. In a report by J. Russell Southworth et al., faculty flow (departures, new appointments, appointments to tenure, etc.) is…

Provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act are reviewed along with AAUP retirement policy. Attention is focused on the impact on new faculty hiring and compensation costs and institutional strategies. The total effect on academic tenure is assessed. (LBH)

The 1978 amendments of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act tenure exemptions are discussed. The question of whether faculty members now serving in nontenured capacities can be dismissed on the basis of age is examined. A rebuttal to an article by Stuart H. Bompey is included. (MLW)

Vroom's expectancy theory model to predict older worker's choices between employment or retirement hypothesized that a person's preference would be a function of differences between instrumentality of employment and retirement for attainment of outcomes, multiplied by the valence of each outcome, summed over outcomes. Results supported the…

Existing regulations, case law, and limited legislative history indicate that an institution can continue to employ faculty without tenure after age 65. However, once tenure is removed, the faculty member is entitled to all the protection of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. (MSE)

The current controversy over age-based mandatory retirement in academia is causing a review of tenure and salary policies. In this article, two alternative explanations for the institution of tenure are discussed. Five alternative policy responses available to university administrators are described and analyzed. (Author/SA)

The likely retirement age of "baby boomers" among the tenured faculty in the State University System (SUS) will coincide with a steep increase in the population of traditional college-age students over the next ten years. The majority (53.5%) of SUS faculty were born in the baby boom years between 1943 and 1959. This group is already…

The 1978 amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and their effect on college and university retirement practices are discussed. Lobbying efforts of higher education associations, an analysis of case law under ADEA prior to 1978 amendments, and major issues facing college counsel and administrators are reviewed. (MLW)

In enacting federal age discrimination legislation, Congress has not preempted the ability of the states to afford more protection to employees from forced retirement than the federal act provides. States with and without age discrimination laws and other sources of law are briefly discussed. (MLW)