Andy Furlong, Professor of Social Inclusion and Education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow and Dean of Research for the College of Social Sciences, passed away on Saturday 30^th January 2017.

Andy was an internationally renowned scholar and a leader in the field of Youth Studies, particularly with regard to understanding processes of youth transitions.  He founded the Journal of Youth Studies and published widely: his major books, Growing Up in a Classless Society – School to Work Transitions (1992) and Young People and Social Change – Individualism and Risk in Late Modernity (with Fred Cartmel 1997) were hugely influential.

As well as his academic work reconceptualising theories for the understanding of youth transitions, he recognised the importance of applied research.  As a research manager in the former Scottish Office, now the Scottish Government, I was always pleased to contract with him for original work on understanding youth transitions, particularly for those from disadvantaged areas, and for subsequent work using data from the Scottish School Leavers Survey, which provided valuable insights for policy-makers in Scotland on cohorts of young people as they made their way from school to the world of work. More than that, he was happy to give time to exploring implications of his work with policy interests. His engaging, humorous and accessible style allowed him to effectively bridge research and policy as he sought to show the complexity of the pathways for young people from school into work.

His expertise was widely recognised not only in Scotland and the UK, but internationally too. He was a consultant to many international bodies, including in countries such as Japan and Australia. Here in Glasgow, he was a major contributor to the widening of the research agenda in education, and key to developing our now very strong focus on the post-compulsory sector.

As well as an active and internationally regarded academic, the CR&DALL (within which he was a core member) and the School of Education has lost a good friend. On behalf of all involved with CR&DALL and the School I would like to send our heartfelt condolences to Andy’s wife and family. We share your loss.

John Tibbitt