A LAW PROFESSOR ASKS: Should I Retire? “I spoke up about a plan I had proposed to end tenure at age 72, whereupon, like most employees, faculty would become employees at will–though with normal age discrimination protections. I asked the attendees, mostly in their 40s and 50s, whether they would do their part for higher education by endorsing such a plan. Not a single hand went up; unlike most Americans, faculty apparently deserve lifetime appointment.”