At this point, he says, the school isn't having any difficulty as a result of the change in law.

"If people can stay in and do their job, then they are welcome," Henry says.

School of Public Health

The School of Public Health saw many older faculty leave just before the end of mandatory retirement, according to Richard J. Cannon, dean for administration. The school currently employs no faculty over the age of 70. A committee considered various incentive plans, but whether they will be administered is an issue to be resolved in the future.

"There's really been no demonstrable effect," he says.

John F. Kennedy School of Government

The Kennedy School of Government (KSG) has a relatively young faculty--it has no professors over the age of 70--which makes retirement "a problem we're going to face in the future," says Julie B. Wilson, secretary to the faculty.

"We're really fortunate to have a young faculty," she says. "They're in many ways bringing in the newest and the best in what's developing in the field."

She says the school hopes to learn from other schools when it tackles the issue.

Divinity School, Education School and the School of Design

With a full-time faculty of fewer than 50, each of these schools claim that their faculty is too small to see any change in retirement trends.

At the Divinity School, the dean keeps a running list of faculty over 62 and meets with them to discuss retirement options, according to Joan L. Goodman-Williamson, assistant to the dean. She says the dean takes this personal approach as part of his style and not because "they're doddering old fools."

The School of Design is home to a relatively young faculty, according to the Dean for Academic Services Patricia J. Roberts, with very few professors nearing retirement.

She says the school hasn't really been affected by the change in law. The dean does not approach faculty when they come closer to retirement age.

"If we have a faculty member, and he doesn't want to retire, he doesn't retire," she says.

Faculty at the Graduate School of Education (GSE) have continued to retire around the age of 70, and the school currently has no faculty over that age.

"It's not a big issue here.... We have discussions about the responsibility of people at some point in their career to move on to make room for younger people," says Dean of the GSE Jerome T. Murphy.