The Process of Aging

Harvard claims to be the world’s leading institution of higher learning; yet its professors are older than ever. For some, the graying of the faculty means that the University becomes less cutting edge without the dynamism of young senior faculty—or it at least makes them worry about the possibility. But the trend is not necessarily bad news for undergraduates or the University on the whole.

In his annual letter to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby reported that professors are on average older than they were a decade ago because senior faculty are continuing to work into their seventies. In 1994, due to changes in federal law, Harvard abolished its mandatory retirement age for senior faculty members, and now the effects are coming to bear.

Several prominent professors have expressed apprehension about the trend—worrying about the efficacy of the oldest Faculty members as teachers and researchers, as well as their ability to properly evaluate their own potentially diminishing capabilities. In light of these concerns, we wish to express our support for senior professors who choose to stay.

Simply put, older professors are some of the most valuable teachers at Harvard. The faculty who choose to keep working late into their lives do so out of passion. Often they love to teach and excel at it; others stay on because their eclectic research interests still awaken curiosity even after decades of study; and for many more it is a combination of the two. For undergraduates, the chance to interact with these dynamic professors and hear first-hand about their storied careers is one of the most exciting and unique aspects of being a Harvard student. We are grateful to these professors for dedicating their lives to academia.

However, an aging Faculty does admittedly present challenges. Some senior professors may no longer be at the forefront of research, and with office and research space scarce across Harvard—especially in the sciences where lab space is increasingly expensive and specialized—departments will have a tough time prioritizing resources appropriately. Furthermore, expanding the Faculty will become ever more vital as the demography of the Faculty becomes increasingly dominated by older members. Harvard should look within its own ranks and tenure more junior faculty, who are already familiar with the University and its students. Many non-tenured professors deserve to continue their cutting-edge work here instead of being forced to go elsewhere—only to be recruited later in life to rejoin the Harvard community.

Harvard must also be mindful of increasing diversity within the Faculty. Currently, women comprise less than 20 percent of tenured faculty; minorities, not even ten percent. The University must recruit more underrepresented groups to offset the longer careers of senior professors—who are even less diverse than the Faculty as a whole.

The key to balancing the needs of devoted senior professors with opportunities for younger and underrepresented scholars lies in encouraging older Faculty to more objectively evaluate their place in the University. To do this, Harvard’s current careful approach seems most appropriate. Through discreet one-on-one advising, the University counsels professors on their options and helps them plan their own retirement. This process sometimes leads to quite productive interim plans—where professors maintain their University ties with office space and library access. Continued teaching ought to be encouraged where interest remains—especially in classes that benefit undergraduates, such as Freshman Seminars. During this transition period, these professors also relinquish more power within departments to allow for younger professors to gain footing.

Faculty deserve the smoothest possible transition to retirement, a notably difficult stage in life, especially for those who have dedicated their lives to their work. And Harvard’s personalized approach—which differs from the tack that most universities take—best balances Harvard’s commitments to both the present and future Faculties.