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Linda Furuto and Hank Levin, CIES Baltimore 2007

          Welcome and greetings from the CIES New Scholars Committee!  My name is Linda Furuto, and I am the CIES New Scholars Committee Chair and a member of the CIES Board of Directors (2006-2009).  Allow me to introduce myself and share a vision of the role of new scholars in CIES. 

            I recently completed my Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles in June 2007, and am currently working as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the University of Hawai’i.  My dissertation research focused on international comparative education and mathematics in the East Asia/Pacific region.  This study built off of my master’s degree in international education from Harvard University and bachelor’s degree in mathematics from BYU.  While conducting dissertation research in Japan, I was invited to be a Visiting Scholar at the University of Tokyo to study mathematics achievement, educational equity, U.S. cross-national comparisons, and policy analysis and evaluation. 

           Over the past ten years, I have worked with students in the Boston public school system as a research-practitioner in Harvard University’s “Inventing the Future” project, taught mathematics and music at the L.D.S. Technical College in Fiji, collaborated with the East-West Center and Ministry of Education of Vietnam on the International Forum for Education 2020 initiative, and helped to design mathematics educational programs with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.  In addition, I have enjoyed researching and consulting at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C., UCLA Center for International and Development Education in Los Angeles, California, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning in Honolulu, Hawaii.  I am very grateful for the privilege I have had to be a member of CIES, and serve as a discussant, panel and workshop organizer, and presenter at various CIES conferences.

           At the most recent CIES conference in Baltimore, a general meeting was opened to all new scholars in the field to participate in creating a shared vision for future direction.  Our shared vision for CIES is symbolically expressed through the educational voyages of the Hōkūle‘a, a double-hulled canoe guided by celestial navigation (sun, moon, stars, waves).  The Hōkūle‘a, “star of gladness,” is internationally renowned for the role it has played in rekindling the Polynesian and Micronesian customs of traditional wayfinding techniques.  The Hōkūle‘a embodies the message of mālama, “to care for each other,” and represents resourcefulness, inventiveness, wisdom, and courage.  It has completed nine voyages to Tahiti, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Cook Islands, Marquesas, the west coast of the U.S., Micronesia, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, reconnecting with people of common ancestry and reawakening pride in rich traditions.  In a similar manner, CIES has crossed oceans as we continue to work toward cultural harmony, historical reverence, and a voyaging spirit in the increasingly interconnected world we live in.

           At a time of significant global change, where new regionalisms sometimes parody the old, the work of CIES is all the more important both for constructively leading these changes and for providing clarity for the future by research and scholarship collaboration.  It is our goal to foster exchanges between new scholars and senior experts, and to unite our distinguished past with our dynamic future.  Through this we will expand our vision of global kinship, perpetuate our cultural heritage, and encourage stewardship.  This is an exciting point in time and I am humbled to represent new scholars on the CIES Board of Directors as we cultivate our shared commitment to education as a means for living peacefully in the world.

          “Just as on a canoe with limited space and resources sailing the vast ocean, so are we on this island earth.  In the midst of this vast universe, we must learn to respect and care for ourselves, each other, our culture, and educational environment.” 

- Polynesian Voyaging Society, http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/

Aloha,

Linda Furuto 
Member, CIES Board of Directors
Chair, CIES New Scholars Committee
Email: lindafuruto@post.harvard.edu

(Picture from: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com