A Greying Faculty: Challenge or Stumbling Block to the Twenty-First Century.

Although even a few years ago researchers were suggesting that faculty aging and the resulting retirements would result in a huge demand for new hires, job opportunities have become scarce for recent graduates of doctoral programs. It is important, however, that colleges be able to hire new personnel to bring new ideas into the institution. In considering efforts to induce more "greying" faculty to retire, colleges should take into account the effect of later retirement in terms of the relative lack of diversity of older faculty and the possibility that they will be out of touch with new developments in their discipline. Specifically, early retirement efforts must address the following issues: (1) economic security and inflation, by, for example, crediting additional years of service to early retirees to increase their pension; (2) health coverage, including the possibility of continuing coverage to retirees until they are eligible for Medicare; (3) flexibility, by offering phased-out retirement options through the gradual reduction of teaching loads over a 5-year period; and (4) personal worth factors, including the need to treat retiring faculty as individuals who have made and can still make a contribution to the institution by offering them continued access to library and computer services and keeping them informed of developments. Includes two sample retirement program models. A list of questions for prospective retirees is appended. (BCY)