Beyond Ageist Attitudes: Researchers Call for NIH Action to Limit Funding for Older Academics.

Abstract

This article explores manifestations of ageism in response to a proposed National Institutes of Health (NIH) Emeritus Grant initiative aimed at funding older investigators. Comments were requested by NIH in 2015, through a Request for Information (RFI) as well as a public blog regarding the merits of a proposed grant mechanism that would help older researchers transfer their labs to junior scientists and transition into retirement. This article reports content analysis of comments from 134 respondents to the blog. We found consistent patterns of disapproval of the proposed NIH initiative, which was viewed by most respondents as an undeserved benefit for older scientists. Negative attitudes were also expressed toward senior investigators by a large majority of commenters. In addition to broad opposition to new grant funding for senior investigators, many commenters also advocated for other punitive actions toward older investigators, including forced retirement. These opinions were generally justified by negative appraisals of senior investigators' competence, productivity, and even their character. Ageist comments were not limited to younger researchers, suggesting potential internalized ageism by older investigators. We discuss manifestations of ageism and advocacy for age discrimination in the broader social context of modernization theory, intergenerational conflict and social closure. Our findings raise important questions about the limited value of higher education in counteracting prejudice toward older people. We propose potential remedies to reduce ageism in academia.