Professor Fons van de Vijver passed away suddenly on 1st of June. Professor van de Vijver held a chair in cross-cultural psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and extraordinary chairs at North-West University, South Africa, and the University of Queensland, Australia. He was renowned for his work on cross-cultural research and methods of comparisons.
IEA Executive Director, Dr Dirk Hastedt:
On behalf of IEA, I would like to extend my deepest condolences on Fons’ sudden and tragic passing. Fons was a giant in his field and he will be greatly missed by all of his colleagues.
I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Fons on many occasions. He was a great friend to IEA and a valued collaborator and mentor for our international research network.
In recent years, Fons presented a stimulating keynote address at the IEA International Research Conference held in Prague in 2017 which received excellent feedback and sparked lively discussion during the conference.
Fons also contributed to the IEA Technical Advisory Group and increased our understanding of response styles and cultural differences. Less than three months ago, we had a great exchange about self-reporting scales. I will sincerely miss his advice. I was looking forward to seeing Fons again at this month’s IRC meeting in Copenhagen and his absence will be sorely felt by all of the IEA community.
My heartfelt sympathies to Fons’ family, friends and colleagues. May he rest in peace.