In memoriam prof.dr. Nico Verloop
Nico Verloop, Professor Emeritus of Educational Studies at Leiden University, passed away on 5 June 2025. Nico was the founder and first professor-director (from 1995-2010) of ICLON (Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching) at Leiden University.
Nico was born in Dordrecht on 22 April 1949. He obtained his doctorate cum laude in 1989 for a thesis entitled Interactive cognitions of student-teachers. Two years later, he was appointed professor of educational sciences at Leiden University.
He not only founded ICLON but also led it for 15 years. Under his expert and inspiring leadership, research on teachers took off, not only within ICLON but throughout the Netherlands. At one point, almost all professor-directors of institutes in the Netherlands that hosted a university teacher training programme came from ICLON. Nico also expanded ICLON's international research network step by step, resulting in many lasting contacts, exchanges and projects with renowned researchers from Stanford, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania et cetera.
He has also always played a central and connecting role within the professional association for all educational researchers in the Netherlands (VOR). He chaired this and was later appointed an honorary member. He also served for a long period (1985-1999) on the editorial board of the scientific journal for educational science and pedagogy Pedagogische Studiën. First as secretary and then for years as member and chairman. Many generations of students were introduced to educational sciences with the standard work Onderwijskunde. Een kennisbasis voor professionals, published under his editorship.
He performed all these activities with vision, overview and insight, strategically, with great people skills, always honest, direct and with humour. In this he was and will always be our example.
On behalf of the management team and all ICLON staff:
Prof.dr.ir. Fred Janssen (Scientific director)
On behalf of the ICLON Board:
Dr. Kristiaan van der Heijden (chairman)