As a fellow college professor, I read Felicia Nimue Ackerman’s Dec. 30 Commentary piece, “What is expendable on our campuses,” with interest. Her column is creative and makes an important point — college professors should not be forced or enticed into retirement simply because they reach a certain age.

But there’s nothing to indicate that Prof. Ralph Williams (Professor Ackerman’s example) has been forced into anything. He has chosen to retire for a reason that Professor Ackerman doesn’t approve of (making room for younger faculty), but there’s no indication that he was forced into accepting this reasoning.

I, as Professor Ackerman, do not expect to retire at any particular age (I tell everyone that I’ll probably die in the classroom), so I do not intend to take advantage of the early-retirement package that my college offers when the time comes. But for every teacher like me, there are also professors who thoughtfully choose to retire early, for reasons I may or may not agree with.

It is wrong to coerce anyone into choices that should be theirs to make freely. Simply providing options, however, is not coercion.

VANCE G. MORGAN

Providence

The writer is a professor of philosophy at Providence College.