The Board of Trustees eliminated its mandatory retirement age for its members in Fiscal Year 2022.

Officials removed the 75-year-old age limit for trustees in FY 2022, according to the University’s Form 990 financial report to the IRS. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said officials removed the age limit during a regular bylaw review to “enhance” the Board’s ability to attract and retain trustees.

Previously, trustees who surpassed 75 years old were forced to leave the Board at the end of the body’s term, which ends on May 31, according to a 2019 version of the bylaws.

Metjian declined to comment on why officials previously instituted a 75-year age limit and whether the Board enforced it.

Article III of the University bylaws lists guidelines for trustee eligibility, with the latest bylaws stating that trustees amended the article on March 22, 2022. It’s unclear if this article was amended to update the new age eligibility rules.

State colleges and large private corporations enact maximum age limits for “board refreshment,” which promotes more diverse perspectives in governance, according to a 2021 Harvard University report.

Of the GW’s eight peer schools that publicly list the university’s bylaws, only New York University and the University of Rochester have a maximum age limit for trustees. The University of Southern California will implement a new, 75-year-old age limit starting in 2026.