For maybe 20 years after I retired I got the university's daily news summary via email, reporting what was news on-campus. I started paying attention to obituaries for retired faculty who had died.
What struck me about the data for our campus was that many passed away in their 80s and 90s. This was when life expectancy was in the 70s.
So I recently asked AI whether college tenure-track faculty live longer than many other professions. The answer confirmed my observation, longevity is positively associated with educational attainments.
Most tenure-track faculty have earned a PhD or equivalent and they tend to live a long time. That the professoriate is a low-impact occupation doesn't hurt either.
I wonder if this trend will continue as enrollments shrink and tenured faculty are laid off? Possibly not, stress will certainly increase.
