The Boston Globe is reporting that Northeastern University has closed the Center for Labor Market Studies, following on the heels of the retirement of its founder, Andrew Sum. For those of you who unfamiliar with Sum, he is one of the first I know of to study in depth the impact of literacy proficiency in the labor market. A huge influence in the adult education policy world.

Some samplings of his work:

• Forces Changing Our Nation’s Future (2007)
  The Comparative Performance of U.S. Adults and Youth on International Literacy Assessments, the Importance of Literacy/Numeracy Proficiencies for Labor Market Success, and the Projected Outlook for Literacy Proficiencies of U.S. Adults
• The Fiscal Consequences of Adult Educational Attainment (2007)
• Literacy in the Labor Force: Results from the National Adult Literacy Survey (1999)