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1977: Early Gray Hairs for the Professoriate

February 21, 2016
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Legislation to raise the mandatory-retirement age proved contentious not only in Congress but also on campus because an early version of the bill would have let colleges send tenured professors on their way at age 65. “I may die someday, but I’ll never retire,” said one 70-year-old professor of psychology at Western Washington State University. Lawmakers eventually softened the measure, and mandatory retirement in higher education was abolished in 1994. In other front-page news, “state programs of student aid are expected to total $746 million this year,” we reported. Last year the total was $11.7 billion.

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6224-50_image

Legislation to raise the mandatory-retirement age proved contentious not only in Congress but also on campus because an early version of the bill would have let colleges send tenured professors on their way at age 65. “I may die someday, but I’ll never retire,” said one 70-year-old professor of psychology at Western Washington State University. Lawmakers eventually softened the measure, and mandatory retirement in higher education was abolished in 1994. In other front-page news, “state programs of student aid are expected to total $746 million this year,” we reported. Last year the total was $11.7 billion.

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A version of this article appeared in the February 26, 2016, issue.
Read other items in this 50 Years of Page Ones package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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