Grace Snipper Arnold (UCLA 1985, Ph.D.)
Professor of Education
Antioch University, Los Angeles

John Hawkins was a most accomplished person, widely and deeply respected among academics internationally, as well as among the local community. Yet, he was most unassuming and humble, which are probably the qualities that most endeared us all to him. He treated us, his students in the comparative and international education specialization at UCLA, with utmost respect and care. We sensed that he valued us, and never permitted us to feel less than adequate.

John’s lessons and lectures were student-centered, engaging and interesting. In his courses we learned with joy. And, most of all, he was a friend. Throughout my dissertation process, John was not only invaluable to me academically, but also emotionally, leading me quietly to a successful result. Our friendship grew over the years and I got to know his wonderful family, his wife Judy and his daughters, Marisa and Larina. I have many fond memories of the time spent together with them throughout many years.

My husband, Hasty, and I are deeply saddened by the loss of John. It’s so premature! His memory will live long in our hearts and minds. We join his family in sharing their grief.

Don Ford (UCLA 1986, Ph.D.)
President, Training Education Management LLC
Torrance, CA

It is with sadness that I read the news today that Dr. Hawkins has succumbed. I knew him early in his career at UCLA and, like other students, I found him to be an excellent teacher and mentor. We both shared an enduring interest in China and he served on my dissertation committee, chaired by the late Louise Tyler.

Thanks in part to his advocacy, I was among the first UCLA scholars to conduct dissertation research in China, back in 1984-85, at a time when many thought such research would be impossible to complete. Dr. Hawkins stood behind me and I was indeed able to complete my research and publish the results in a book entitled, "The Twain Shall Meet: The Study of English in China" (McFarland, 1988).

Dr. Hawkins went on after I graduated to become a leader in foreign student exchange programs in Asia. He helped to bring East and West together, something we sorely need today. May he rest in peace and his contribution to UCLA and global education always be honored and remembered.

Miloni Gandhi (UCLA 2006/2010, M.A./Ph.D)
Founder
Experience International

John was an incredible mentor and friend. Those are the contexts in which I knew him best, but I know he was loved for so many more roles than just those two.

As a mentor, he always had just the right feedback at just the right time. Never too much, never too little, but just the right amount of inquiry to make sure you were on the path to hitting your goals; and always giving undivided attention to your many questions about school, work and life. I will always remember his steady and reassuring voice, reminding me that there were some things that were out of my control and I would have to let the universe run its course.

Somewhere along the way of my graduate school journey, I was privileged enough to see John not just as a mentor, but as a friend, and for that I will always be grateful. Thank you John. Thank you for believing in me.

Sincerely,
Miloni Gandhi

Stephanie Kim (UCLA 2014, Ph.D.)
Assistant Professor of the Practice
Faculty Director, Higher Education Administration
Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies
Associate Editor, Journal of International Students
Vice President, Fulbright Association National Capital Area Chapter

Professor Hawkins with some of his graduate students from the past decade. From left: Aki Yamada (Ph.D., 2015), Miloni Gandhi (M.A., 2006/ Ph.D., 2010), Hawkins; Emily Le, senior policy analyst, UCLA Academic Senate; Jing Xu (Ph.D., 2017); and Stephanie Kim (Ph.D., 2014). (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Kim.)

I first met John as a doctoral student at UCLA. Though I technically worked with another doctoral advisor, I always felt John was equally as invested in my professional growth, given my research interest in higher education reform in Asia. He was keen to provide me with valuable opportunities even when I was just a graduate student, from teaching opportunities, invitations to publication workshops (and the exciting travel opportunities that came with those) and networking functions with more senior scholars.

All of that shows just how generous he was even to “adopted” students like myself. I thank him for being able to establish my early scholarly network during those years, and in that sense, I feel his legacy lives on through us, his students. Nonetheless I miss him very much. We all do.

Thanks,
Stephanie K. Kim, Ph.D.

Emily Le, Senior Policy Analyst, UCLA Academic Senate 
On leave from GSE&IS Ph.D. program

John was a very kind and supportive mentor. He took me on as a graduate student despite having officially retired a few years before. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from him. He has touched the lives of many and will be missed.

Eric Metzgar (UCLA 1990, Ph.D.)
Comparative and International Education

Professor Hawkins with Eric Metzgar in front of UCLA's Moore Hall in 1990 on the day of the university's hooding ceremony for doctoral
degree graduates. (Photo courtesy of Eric Metzgar.) 

I can see it now: After getting my Ph.D. and trying to find my way in the world outside UCLA and academia, John and I would meet up in Agoura Hills from time to time. Islands Restaurant was the half-way point between our respective houses. I must say that I reveled in our talks —always far-ranging and "outside the box."

That's what I admired most about John, his freedom of thought. John had been my dissertation chairman and I am forever thankful for that. I don't know how I would have gotten through that process if it weren't for his insightful suggestions and patience.

Above all, he was one of the few mentors that I have had who was a consummate practitioner of kindness, coupled with a rigorous professorial mind, his suggestions always delivered with a wry smile as if we both knew how fate might play a hand in our plans for the future.

We talked, and we talked. That's what I shall miss the most. I just wish I could have said good-bye. But John would understand.

Deane Neubauer 

Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Senior Fellow, East-West Center
University of Hawai’i at Manoa

John N. Hawkins was directly responsible, along with colleagues at the East-West Center, for the establishment in the early 2000s of the International Forum for Education program, which would, over the next decade, develop a program of annual higher education meetings throughout the Asia-Pacific region, eventually developing into a dedicated edited-volume original series (published by Palgrave Macmillan), of which he was co-editor.

In 2010 the annual meeting was relocated to the Asia-Pacific region, along with an annual training institute for higher education professionals drawn from a wide range of Asian countries. Renamed the Asia Pacific Higher Education Research Partnership (APHERP) in 2013, of John was co-director, this work evolved and was relocated to Lingnan University in Hong Kong in 2018.

Through these activities he continued a vital strand of his lifelong engagement with education in Asia, where he is recognized as a singular figure in a role that fully complemented that of his distinguished tenure at UCLA.

Claire Panosian (Dunavan) M.D., DTM&H (London), FIDSA, FASTMH 

Professor Emeritus/Recalled of Medicine, Infectious Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Past-President, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

I will always treasure the memory of my “cross-campus friendship” with John Hawkins and the opportunity to teach, collaborate and engage with a colleague whose life and work reflected such a deep commitment to education, health and development. His career also inspired many trans-Pacific friendships and academic partnerships. He was both a wonderful mentor and a kindred spirit.


Youqun Ren
Former Vice President and Professor, East China Normal University
Head Officer, Department of Teacher Education and Development, Ministry of Education of China

In 2005, I met John Hawkins at the International Forum for Education for 2020 held by the East-West Center at Manoa. We became great friends since then, and my colleagues and I invited him to visit China several times afterward. In 2015, I visited John in Waikiki and he looked very energetic. It was hard to believe that it turned out to be our last meeting forever.

John was one of the few American scholars who visited China in the 1960s and 70s. His initiative in the study of Chinese education was absolutely revolutionary at that time. His global vision, research courage and profound knowledge is nothing but remarkable. May he rest in peace.

Val D. Rust
Professor Emeritus

UCLA School of Education & Information Studies

I first met John in Hawaii, where I was a professor and he was a master’s student. Then John came to UCLA as a temporary replacement for me, when I was in Germany with the Education Abroad Program. And John’s final institutional home was at the East West Center, which was linked with the University of Hawaii, where I received my first professional appointment.

These formal connections are but small reminders of an even more emotional link we formed with each other. We both lived in the West Valley here in Southern California and shared a common life with each other. We even have common ancestors back in the seventeenth century. He was a partner in my life. I loved John as a brother. His former students loved him as a father.

Re: CIDE (Center for International and Development Education)
In 2002, John and I decided to establish a research center in the department. It was called the Center for International and Development Education. We engaged our students in the center with the intention of helping them learn how to obtain research and development grants.

Over the years, we had several wonderful projects. Perhaps the most successful was a State Department program that brought English teachers from India and Pakistan to UCLA for the summer. The intent was to help them grasp the latest pedagogies related to English learning

Zack Ritter

Associate Dean of Students
California State University, Dominguez Hills

Prof. Hawkins was a kind, brilliant and caring man. I was a nobody, but he treated me like I was somebody. I was just a 23-year-old grad student, but he treated me like I was his colleague, like I mattered. He made me feel like I could be an academic in spaces that often told me I couldn't.

He told me about his trip on a train in China during the Cultural Revolution when he was almost taken away at gunpoint, but his life was spared by soldiers abruptly getting off the train.

Prof. Hawkins was a humble man. He didn't put himself above others, nor did he exoticize other cultures and utter microaggressive statements. He was respectful, patient and sensitive. He took the time to know his students on a personal level. He had a warm aura about him, and he lit up around his students.

I remember giving a presentation about the history of Singapore and afterward he said, "You are really good at teaching, you have a bright future ahead of you." Those little words of encouragement gave me hope that I could be like him one day. I wanted to be an international scholar because he made it look easy and fun!

It wasn't so easy after all. He was one of a kind. He lives on in his students and I know the care and love with which I approach being an educator is in large part due to John. Thank you John, for changing my life, and for helping me on my Ph.D. committee, and for being a friend and mentor. You are missed greatly.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Xingjiang Shao 绍兴江

Associate Professor of Education
College of Education
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

我与John教授虽然接触数次，但有几个方面我深有感受，在退休后仍然在夏威夷大学东西方中心即亚太高等教育研究伙伴网络（APHERP）辛勤工作，为促进亚太地区高等教育研究与发展做出了多方面工作，多次莅临杭州参加会议。 另一个是非常注重引领提拔年轻学者，在研究方向、研究具体内容和论文写作方面，给予指导。是一位德高望重、学养深厚、富有国际影响的大学者，全球比较教育的一代宗师。

- 浙江大学教育学院副教授绍兴江

Although I only encountered Professor Hawkins several times, he made a great impression on me. I was really impressed that Professor Hawkins worked so diligently at the East-West Center and at APHERP even after his retirement. He was extremely dedicated to the development of higher education in Asia Pacific Region and has made a great contribution to it.

John came to Hangzhou many times for conferences. He was extremely supportive of young scholars and dedicated to cultivating them. From research topics to academic writing, he gave me a great deal of selfless advice. He was such a noble and influential character with profound knowledge who won the full respect from his peers. John was definitely a grand master in the field of comparative education.

Weizhong Sun 孙伟忠

Associate Professor of Higher Education
Higher Education Institute
Jilin University, Jilin, China

听闻噩耗，无比悲痛。我在2011年到2012年到UCLA访学，做有关教育经济学的研究。John是我当时的指导教授。他为人和蔼宽容，包容大度，给我留下了极深的印象。十分感谢他对我科研上的支持，老爷子一路走好！-吉林大学高等教育研究所副教授孙伟忠

Jason Yang (UCLA 2010, Ph.D.)
Professor of Education
National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan

Dear John,

Thank you wholeheartedly for your support and kind advice on my dissertation. I will sincerely continue comparative higher education research in Asia based on your teaching. I will always remember our dialogues at UCLA and many other seminars in Asia.

Sincerely,
Jason Yang 楊正誠

Wellford “Buzz” Wilms
Professor Emeritus
UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies

When I arrived at UCLA in 1977, John was one of the first people I met and we became close friends. He was one of the most thoughtful men I have ever known. He was honest and direct but compassionate, qualities that I will sorely miss. I’m only sorry that I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye to him.

Xiaozhou Xu  徐小洲

Professor of Education
President of Communication, University of Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
Former Dean, Dean of College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

July 19, 2016. The Graduate Student Summer Camp of Zhejiang University visited UCLA and attended Professor Hawkin’s lecture.

May 23, 2016, Zhangzhou, China. Senior Seminar on Changing Nature and Value of the Flagship University. From left: Prof. Yonghua Song, president, University of Macao; Prof. John Hawkins, UCLA; and Prof. Xiaozhou Xu from Zhejiang University.

惊闻噩耗，不胜哀悼！John Hawkins 是我好朋友，中国高等教育学界老朋友。我和John Hawkins教授交往多年。他学术造诣深厚，为人诚恳踏实，乐于助人，是值得尊敬的学者，值得深交的朋友。我谨代表联合国教科文组织中国创业教育联盟、联合国教科文组织浙江大学创业教育教席、浙江传媒学院表示沉痛哀悼！希望我们继承Hawkins教授的事业，为推动中美高等教育交流与合作继续努力！

-浙江传媒学院校长徐小洲

 I am writing to express my sincere condolences regarding the sad news about Professor John Hawkins. Professor Hawkins was a good friend of mine and also a good friend of China’s higher education community. In the many years I have known him, he was a scholar of profound knowledge who deserved tremendous respect. He was also extremely sincere, dependable and generous in giving help.

Let me also express my deepest condolences to his family on behalf of the UNESCO Entrepreneurship Education Network National Chapter of China; the UNESCO Chair Programme in Entrepreneurial Education; and the Department of Communication of the University of Zhejiang.

Published: Thursday, August 13, 2020