He retired as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (1992), although reportedly worked up until one week before his death in 2005 at age 87 years.
[2] When Stanley was a young math and science teacher he became fascinated with intellectual talent while taking a "tests and measurements" course at the University of Georgia.
[2] Seeing a need for more research and development in mathematical reasoning ability, Stanley submitted a proposal to the Spencer Foundation of Chicago, which also had an interest in intellectual talent, to help fund his study.
Up until the time of Stanley's study, there was the prevalent idea that cultural assimilation, stemming from the melting pot ideology featured prominently within the United States’ immigration policies, was also a factor in educators veering away from providing acceleration opportunities for gifted students.
This out of level testing method proved to be so successful in identifying intellectual talent and furthering the education of youths in ways that were deemed not to detract from social and emotional development, that the program continued with great achievement.
The program was also deemed to have predictive validity, reasons for which this type of testing has now become a standardized method of identifying early intellectually precocious youth, both within the United States and internationally.
Julian Stanley wrote or edited 13 books, produced over 500 professional articles, received two honorary doctorates and numerous awards, including:[2]