Dr. Paul Torrance designed tests that millions of students find fun to take.

He was hailed as a genius by some educators and vilified by others for his research into creativity as a measure of intelligence, shattering the theory that IQ tests alone can measure real intelligence.

His 60 years of research became the framework for gifted student programs offered in schools. His are the most widely used tests for creativity, according to the University of Georgia. He saw genius in school troublemakers and encouraged children to think beyond what they were told to do.

"The willingness of a child to think with that much freedom and imagination is one of the attributes that gets people in our society in trouble," he said in a 1984 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article. That same creativity, he contended, makes good problem-solvers.

While supporters lionized Dr. Torrance as a champion of the creatively gifted, a Johns Hopkins professor accused him of being responsible for the drop in Scholastic Aptitude Test scores.

The funeral for Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance, 87, is 11 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church in Athens. He died of complications from pneumonia at his Athens residence Saturday. Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Born to Baldwin County farmers, he earned his doctorate at the University of Michigan and developed his first creativity test at Georgia Military College. He joined the University of Georgia faculty in 1966 as chairman of the department of educational psychology.

He was one of the most published faculty members in UGA's history, said a spokesman for the university. UGA established the Torrance Center for Creative Studies in his honor after his 1984 retirement.

In 1974, Dr. Torrance created the Future Problem Solving Program, which is international in scope and involves 300,000 students in future studies and creative problem solving. Georgia Public Television aired a film documenting his work in 2000.

Heightened awareness of the importance of creativity led to the development of gifted programs worldwide. Some professionals believe using Dr. Torrance's creativity tests, coupled with IQ tests, is a less discriminatory measure for admitting students into gifted programs.

"He continually proved himself a genius, and not just in theory but in application," said Joan Franklin-Smutney, director for the gifted at National-Louis University in Evanston, Ill.

There are no immediate survivors. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Torrance Center through the Torrance Discretionary Fund, University of Georgia Foundation, 824 S. Milledge Ave., Athens, GA, 30602-5582.