He says that he plans to retire to the libraries to continue his work, a “transition period” between retirement age and “old age.”

“For [humanities professors], the most important thing is library access,” Iriye says. “So as long as we can work in Widener, it’s okay.”

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.

Timeline

A look at how Harvard’s Faculty has been affected by changes in Federal Law

1948: Helen Maud Cam becomes Harvard’s first female tenured professor.

1965: Kenan Professor of Government arvey C. Mansfield ’53 receives tenure.

OCTOBER 1967: Congress passes the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which protected people age 40 and up from age-related employment discrimination.

DECEMBER 1984: Helen Vendler, currently the only professor over age 70, accepts tenure at Harvard.

OCTOBER 1986: Congress amends the ADEA to prohibit mandatory retirement in most professions. Higher education is granted an extension—they can enforce mandatory retirement until 1994.

1993: History professor Bernard Bailyn turns 70 just months before the January cutoff. He retires to emeritus status, but continues to teach and write.

JANUARY 1, 1994: Universities are no longer able to mandate retirement. With the “cap” removed, professors enjoy essentially unlimited tenure.

FEBRUARY 2004: .Dean of the Faculty William C. Kirby announces in his annual letter that Harvard’s faculty is older now than it was ten years ago.