Allen Tough
Encyclopedia
Dr. Allen Tough is Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. He has contributed to the fields of Adult Education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...

, Futures Studies, and SETI
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...

. Linking these fields together is Dr. Tough's concern with the long-term future of humanity in the cosmos, and humans' search for meaning and purpose on personal, societal, and global levels. He taught at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

), University of Toronto, for 33 years, retiring from teaching in 1997.

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Tough earned his MA from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, and PhD from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

. His first books, The Adult's Learning Projects and Intentional Changes, were based on his thesis research.

In 1981, Dr. Tough expanded his areas of study to include the fields of Futures Studies and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...

. His 1991 book Crucial Questions about the Future, brought these themes together. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Tough continued to pursue these subjects, both through publishing and presenting papers at European SETI conferences, SETI League symposiums, and the World Space Congress. His book "When SETI Succeeds" was chosen as one of eight works "The Editors Recommend" in the December 2000 issue of Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...

.

In 1996, figuring that the development of the World Wide Web presented new possibilities for contact with intelligent extraterrestrials, Dr. Tough issued an online "Invitation to ETI."

In 2000, he published an essay, "How to Achieve Contact: Five Promising Strategies."

In 2006, Allen Tough initiated The Billingham
John Billingham
Dr. John Billingham is a former director of the NASA SETI institute.He was born in England and educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester. From there he went onto Oxford University to study physiology. He gained a BM BCh degree from Oxford and Guy's Hospital, London before working for the RAF...

 Cutting-Edge Lectures, a series of annual lectures to be held at the meetings of the International Academy of Astronautics
International Academy of Astronautics
The International Academy of Astronautics is an international community of experts committed to expanding the frontiers of space. It is a non-governmental organisation established in Stockholm on August 16, 1960....

 SETI Permanent Study Group. That same year, Allen Tough was awarded the Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was an American Adult Educator, famous for the adoption of the theory of Andragogy—initially a term coined by the German teacher Alexander Kapp...

Self-Directed Learning Award, and was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in Dallas, Texas.

Selected publications

Tough, A. (1999). Reflections on the study of adult learning. Centre for the Study of Education and Work, OISE/UT. WALL Working Paper 8. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/2722

External links

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