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Is 65 too old to stay at the helm of a major research center?
[...] Bréchot, who previously led INSERM, the French biomedical research agency, aspires to a second term, but he will turn 65 in July 2017. Under the governing statutes of the foundation that runs the Paris center, that disqualifies him for the renewal, Pasteur's 21-strong board of directors has concluded. Angered by the board's refusal to change the rules, Pasteur's General Meeting, a parliament-style governing body, dissolved the board in June. Now, Bréchot's future is in limbo.
[...] The board, which includes six Pasteur scientists, would not budge. Changing Article 12 would be a lengthy affair that requires government involvement and could lead to a complete review of the foundation's statutes to align them with those of other French foundations, says board chair Rose-Marie Van Lerberghe. That could damage Pasteur, she adds: For example, Bréchot earns a sizable salary but typical foundation statutes require an unpaid president, which would make it difficult to recruit a top candidate.
How old is too old for this job and others?
Would making the position unpaid like other foundation actually make it "difficult to recruit a top candidate"?
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/08/dispute-over-presidents-age-tears-pasteur-institute-apart
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 04 2016, @09:43PM
and I think this is exactly the sort of situation that they wanted to avoid, with a geezer holding on to a ruling position.
while it's true that for scientists a lot of productive work can take place after 65, I really think they should only be allowed to be the equivalent of postdocs if they insist on doing research.
they should definitely not be allowed in a decision making position.