Prof. Dr. Peter Heintz † (1920-1983) founder of the SUZ institute, studied in Paris, Cologne and Zurich, earned a doctor's degree in Zurich in 1943 and habilitated in 1956 with René König in Cologne. In 1966, he was appointed a professor of sociology and the position of ordinarius, which he held up to his death. Peter Heintz worked at the UNESCO as an expert for higher education development in Latin America and directed the faculty of social sciences in Santiago de Chile. Peter Heintz gave the SUZ institute a distinct empirical and international direction. From his estate the "World Society Foundation" was founded in order to promote the socio-scientific research of world societies.