The CIES Executive Board of Directors would like to inform you that Professor Torsten Husén passed away in Stockholm, Sweden, on 2 July 2009. The comparative and international education community has lost a founding member of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and an active member of CIES. A devoted and eminent scholar of cross-national comparison in education, Husén launched the First International Mathematics Study (FIMS). The first IEA study involved 12 countries and was published in 1967 in two volumes edited by Professor Husén. This study was followed by numerous other student achievement projects and led to numerous books and other publications.

Husén was very influential as scholar and advisor for educational reforms in the 1960s and 1970s. The full text of the tribute, prepared by Jack Schwille, may be found on the following website: http://www.iea.nl/torstenhusen.html.

A memorial event will be held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on September 1. Family, friends, and colleagues will gather and read short messages or personal memories of Torsten Husén at the event. Please send your messages to his daughter, Dr. Görel Strömqvist: gorel.stromqvist@gmail.com.

Family and friends of Torsten Husén have developed a website (including a film) to commemorate Torsten Husén’s life and work: www.torstenhusen.com

Sincerely,
Gita Steiner-Khamsi
CIES President