Psychology Pioneer Honored with Mensa Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award

ARLINGTON, TEXAS, September 14th, 2012 — The Mensa Education & Research Foundation has announced Dr. Franz Mönks of Munster, Germany, as the recipient of the Mensa Lifetime Achievement Award for his immeasurable influence on the education and psychology of the gifted and talented. The award was presented on September 12 at the European Council for High Ability Conference in Munster, Germany.

Dr. Mönks was appointed Europe’s first professorial Chair of Psychology and Pedagogics of the gifted child. In 1989, he was elected as vice-president of The World Council for the Gifted, and, in 1992, as president of the European Council for High Ability (ECHA). He also founded an educational exchange program, which invited young scholars from underdeveloped countries to study giftedness and talent at the University of Niemegan before returning to their home countries. In addition, Mönks founded the Hugo de Groot Stichting Foundation, the Center for Giftedness in Nijmegen, as well as co-founded the International Society for Study of Behavioral Development.

“The Mensa Foundation salutes Dr. Mönks for his research on giftedness and the education of gifted children,” said Dave Remine, President of the Mensa Education & Research Foundation. “Dr. Mönks acted as an inspiration to students around the world with his teachings and numerous publications. He is a true pioneer and we are very proud of his continued noble efforts.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award was created in 1999 to honor an individual’s contributions to the field of human intelligence, giftedness, or creativity. To win this award, one must have published an exceptional body of work in research, theory, or other scholarly areas over a period of 15 years or more. Winners may be educators and/or practitioners in the fields of giftedness, brain function, human intelligence, creativity, or intelligence testing.

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The Mensa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on intelligence and giftedness in the community at large. It's mission supports two of the three stated purposes shared by all Mensa organizations, to identify and foster intelligence for the benefit of humanity and to encourage research into the nature, characteristics, and uses of intelligence. The Mensa Foundation pursues these goals, in partnership with American Mensa and/or Mensa International where appropriate, with resources donated by Mensans and non-Mensans alike and aspire to use the intelligence of Mensans and non-Mensans to make the world a better place. For more information about the Mensa Foundation, visit mensafoundation.org or call (817) 607-5577.