It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our colleague and friend Dr. Jim Sick on January 6. Like many EFL teachers in Japan, Jim came to the profession from other areas. Having gone to the New College of Florida and the Berklee College of Music, and playing guitar in San Francisco, he originally came to Japan as a jazz guitarist. He gradually got into EFL teaching, maybe to make ends meet, and decided to make that his career choice. He went on to earn his Master’s and doctoral degrees from Temple University Japan (TUJ), becoming a recognized specialist in language assessment and statistical analysis, including Rasch measurement. Jim shared his expertise by teaching language testing courses at TUJ and served as a dedicated dissertation advisor to numerous doctoral students. A long-standing member of JALT and the Testing and Evaluation SIG (TEVAL), he also served as TEVAL President for four years. His scholarly contributions and leadership have left a lasting impact on the field of assessment in Japan. Jim will be remembered with deep gratitude by the many students he guided and by his colleagues for his leadership, expertise, and kindness. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Jim. May your memory be a blessing.
