SHIMBERG, Benjamin 1918-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born June 5, 1918, in Rochester, NY; died from complications from a stroke, September 24, 2003, in Trenton, NJ. Psychologist and author. As a director of the Educational Testing Service, Shimberg was an expert on creating licensing and certification standards for various professions. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Rochester in 1941, and, after serving as a technical sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, completed his Ph.D. at Purdue University in 1949. That year, he joined the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, DC, as an associate director of the Office of Evaluation. In 1953 he moved to the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, NJ, where he started as an assistant to the president. From 1955 to 1960, Shimberg was director of Guidance Inquiry at ETS, and from 1960 to 1967 he was director of educational relations. Beginning in 1967, he was director of occupational studies and programs, retiring in 1988.Iin 1996, he served as research scientist emeritus for the Chauncey Group International. Shimberg, who wrote tests for the licensing or certification of employees ranging from medical professionals to the Coast Guard, strove to create fair standards that measured not only education but also practical, in-the-field skills. He was the founder of the Council for Licensure Enforcement and Regulation, a former president of the Association for Measurement and Evaluation in Guidance, a consultant to lawmakers, and a Red Cross volunteer who often assisted at disaster sites. Shimberg was the author of Occupational Licensing: A Public Perspective (1980), and coauthor of half a dozen other books, including Occupational Licensing: Practices and Policies (1973), and the 2nd edition of Questions a Legislator Should Ask (1994).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, September 30, 2003, p. C21.