Global Visionary: Honoring the Life and Work of Jan L. Tucker

From Dr. Tucker’s early work at Stanford University to his groundbreaking efforts in creating the globally-minded social studies education program at Florida International University, this presentation will trace Dr. Tucker’s philosophy of education and his application of theory to practice in global education in K-12 public schools and teacher education programs.

Unexpectedly passing away in 1997, Dr. Tucker’s work continues to inform and inspire the next generation of global educators.

Past Speakers

Dr. Helmut Schmidt, then-Chancellor of West Germany (1999)
Gerda Weisman Klein and Kurt Klein (2000);
Shall Sinha, personifying Mahatma Gandhi (2001);
Nane Annan, noted author and wife of Kofi Anan, the United Nations Secretary General (2002);
Bruce Harris of Casa Alianza (2003);
Dr. John L. Esposito of Georgetown University (2004);
Paula Allen, Activist and Social Documentary Photographer (2005);
Dr. Lena Lenskaya, senior researcher at the Moscow Center for Pedagogical Innovation and Advisor to the Russian Minister of Education under the Yeltsin Government (2006);
Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee from Pakistan (2007);
Dr. Caiphas Nziramasanga of the University of Zimbabwe (2008);
Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Pakistani Humanitarian Activist (2009);
Dr. Vladimir Avtomonov of the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow, Russia (2010);
Dr. Guomin Zheng, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, China (2011);
Dr. Graham Pike, Dean of International Education at Vancouver Island University, Canada (2012);
Dr. Francis E. Godwyll of The Ohio University (2013);
and Dr. Gustavo E. Fischman of Arizona State University (2014)
Dr. Lisa Gibbs of the University of Melbourne, Australia (2015);
Dr. Audrey Osler, Professor of Education, University College of Southeast Norway and the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2016);
Dr. Bárbara C. Cruz, the University of South Florida (2017);
Dr. Fred Mednick, Teachers without Boarders (2018);
Dr. Edward Westermann, Texas A&M University-San Antonio (2019);
Dr. Mejai Bola Avoseh, University of South Dakota (2020);
Dr. Hilary Landorf, Florida International University (2021);
Dr. William Gaudelli, Lehigh University (2022)

More About the Jan L. Tucker Memorial Lecture

The role of the International Assembly also includes the selection of keynote speakers for the annual Jan L. Tucker Memorial Lecture. The event was proposed by Professor John J. Cogan, University of Minnesota, after the untimely death of Jan L. Tucker, social studies and global international educator who served as president of the NCSS from 1987-1988. With the initial efforts of Professor John C. Cogan and the support of Professors David L. Grossman, East-West Center, Honolulu, and Michael Hartoonian, University of Minnesota---who served as the 1995-1996 President of the NCSS and as a member of the NCSS Board of Directors between 1996 and 1999--- Hartoonian shepherded the Cogan/Grossman resolution through the NCSS Board in November 1997. The resolution was approved in principle at that time but was not officially instituted until the NCSS board meeting in May 1998 with the provision that the lecture would be under the auspices and financial responsibility of the International Assembly.
 
The intent of the Memorial Lecture is twofold: to honor the legacy of global international educator Jan L. Tucker of Florida International University, and to provide a forum where prominent international scholars and foreign scholars based at U.S. institutions of higher learning deliver a keynote address that captures their perspective on the prevailing global challenges confronting the world of education in the 21st century.

Keynote Speakers from 1999 to 2017

The International Assembly has expanded the role of the NCSS through its network of notable keynote speakers and, thus, increased the international focus of the organization affirming the important contributions that the International Assembly makes to NCSS. The keynote speakers were generously sponsored by the Elliot and Eleanor Goldstein Family Foundation, Boca Raton, Florida.
 
 Since its inception in 1999, the Jan L. Tucker Memorial Lecture has drawn a gathering of some of the most distinguished keynote speakers from around the world. The inaugural keynote address was delivered by Dr. Helmut Schmidt, then-Chancellor of West Germany (1999). Other notable international speakers have included: Shall Sinha, personifying Mahatma Gandhi (2001); Nane Annan, noted author and wife of Kofi Anan, the United Nations Secretary General (2002); Bruce Harris of Casa Alianza (2003); Dr. Lena Lenskaya, senior researcher at the Moscow Center for Pedagogical Innovation and Advisor to the Russian Minister of Education under the Yeltsin Government (2006); Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari, Nobel Peace Prize Nominee from Pakistan (2007); Dr. Caiphas Nziramasanga of the University of Zimbabwe (2008); Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Pakistani Humanitarian Activist (2009); Dr. Vladimir Avtomonov of the Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow, Russia (2010); Dr. Guomin Zheng, Dean of the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, China (2011); Dr. Graham Pike, Dean of International Education at Vancouver Island University, Canada (2012); Dr. Lisa Gibbs of the University of Melbourne, Australia (2015); and Dr. Audrey Osler, Professor of Education, University College of Southeast Norway and the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (2016). The international scholars who were based at U.S. universities included Dr. John L. Esposito of Georgetown University (2004); Dr. Francis E. Godwyll of The Ohio University (2013); and Dr. Gustavo E. Fischman of Arizona State University (2014). Although every effort is made to invite keynote speakers from other countries, three U.S.-based scholars have served as keynote speakers: Gerda Weisman Klein and Kurt Klein on the Holocaust (2000); Paula Allen, Activist and Social Documentary Photographer (2005); and Dr. Bárbara C. Cruz of the University of South Florida (2017).