The ’60s Begin to Fade as Liberal Professors Retire

By PATRICIA COHEN Published: July 3, 2008 Hired during an expansion in higher education, baby boomers are being replaced by a new generation. Individual colleges and organizations like the American Association of University Professors are already bracing for what has been labeled the graying of the faculty. More than 54 percent of full-time faculty members in the United States were older than 50 in 2005, compared with 22.5 percent in 1969. How many will actually retire in the next decade or so depends on personal preferences and health, as well as how their pensions fare in the financial markets.