A Unique Fighting Irishman: My Tribute to Dr Donald E. Hawkins, the Modern Tourism Education Pioneer
Dr Donald E Hawkins (1936 – 2025)
Professor Joe Goldblatt
“Joe, if you want to be a professor, one day you had better change your language! Do you understand me!”
The gentleman with the sweet outward disposition had a steel substructure that allowed him to create a modern field of study that has brought millions of people to places they once only dreamed. Therefore, I listened with respect to his admonishment of my behaviour and have followed his wise guidance throughout my entire teaching career.
My senior Professor for my Master of Tourism Administration, Dr Don E. Hawkins was the founder of the Tourism Studies programme at The George Washington University (GW) and over 50 years ago when he established this programme these types of fields of study were few and far between. In fact, the programme Don founded is purported to be the first of its kind in the entire world.
I was 40 years of age and had been accepted into Don’s programme to earn my master and doctorate degrees in Tourism Studies and Higher Education Leadership. Don was my champion all the way. And this one example of his admonishment to me about making a rare callous comment about a fellow student was actually one of many examples of when necessary he would waste no words in helping me understand his view of the proper culture of academia.
During the 1990’s, academia was changing from a traditional academic enterprise to a serious business model where fundraising was essential for success and sustainability. Don understood this and managed to attract significant funding for our programme that allowed me to visit Israel multiple times as well as many other destinations around the world. He opened many golden doors and windows for me and thousands of other students during his long tenure at GW.
One day he announced that I would be his successor as leader of the International Institute of Tourism Studies and he wished to introduce me to our Vice President of Research Studies. The VP controlled our budget so this was an important meeting.
Don leaned over and quietly asked “Joe, what are you going to ask her for?”
I was surprised as this would be my first meeting with her and Don immediately reminded me that our time and hers was valuable and I had better get to the point. I did get to the point and we got the funding we needed which at that time set a precedent for funding models within the University.
Whilst I was Director of the pioneering Event and Tourism Management Programme at GW, Don was most excellent at keeping me focused upon marketing tourism as well as events within the curriculum. My natural tendency had been to focus upon events which had been my main interest, experience, and passion.
One day I led our six staff members to a Comedy Club in Washington, DC and invited them to do a five minute “Stand Up” about what they hoped to achieve in the next year. The venue had been chosen because I believed we were in the “fun” business of marketing event and tourism education and wanted to reinforce this with our staff within an enjoyable atmosphere. Don attended and then reminded us that the venue was inappropriate for a serious business meeting and we were not focusing enough upon tourism. He was never afraid to speak his mind. And I learned from him that we were first in the academic business where we then taught people how to plan, deliver, evaluate so they could experience fun.
A few days later, he privately apologised to me for making his opinion known in front of my staff. However, I fully understood and appreciated his comments. I also respected them. And slowly but surely I came to respect that academic culture was far different (at least at that time) from the business culture I had previously only known. He taught me not only integrity but also the necessity of apology when appropriate.
Much later, Don called me at home and asked if I had seen the Washington Post newspaper headline that day announcing “Party Planning Taught at GW”? It turns out that some clever reporter had discovered the new field of study entitled Events Management and re – labled it as party planning. The Dean of our Business School had seen it and was furious.
I waited for Don to admonish me but instead due to his integrity and generosity he said “Joe, we are going to tell the Dean the Post was actually describing political party education.” It worked. We never heard another word from the notoriously gossipy world of the academy nor the Dean. In fact, it might have actually promoted enrolment in political education courses for those in the University so they may have been delighted. GW is now one of the world leaders in political and government education.
In addition to finding creative solutions in times of trouble, Don was also an early adopter of many new technoloies for teaching and learning. During one of my early lectures in 1993 Dr. Hawkins huffed and puffed as he pushed into our classroom a large box the size of a vertical fridge freezer. He extinguished the lights in our room and suddenly upon the screen brightly coloured slides magically appeared and were transitioned dramatically as if we were watching an animated feature film. Don then announced “Welcome to Fusion!” Fusion was one of the first presentation software systems that along with Microsoft Power Point succeeded static slides and transparencies in communicating information to students and benefitting millions of students and transforming university teaching and learning all over the world. And Don Hawkins was one of the first adopters at GW.
His adoption of Fusion is just another example of his ability to teach by example. He demonstrated that the future of education was through internet communications and one day he invited me if I would lke to transfer $15,000 from my events and tourism marketing budget to an online learning system that was being piloted within the University. I agreed and the company behind this new technology sent me all over China to promote on line learning. This system later became the largest of all on line teaching and learning programmes transforming higher education and benefitting millions of students and was entitled entitled Blackboard. I only wish I had personally invested in this company!
Don regularly took up the fight to promote me and my career along with the field of event and tourism education. He stood up to leaders at the University on my behalf to allow my programme to grow and flourish over many years time. He was indeed a fighter and fought a lot of battles on my behalf, and while I am by nature and political persuasion a pacifist, I always admired his determination into seeking to reverse and resolve any injustice he detected.
The funny thing is that although Don’s obituary mentions that he was a major supporter of the “Fighting Irish”, however, it does not mention if he had Irish heritage. Therefore, I do not know if any of his his clan actually came from the Emerald Isle.
Regardless, in my view, he is at least an honourary ‘Fighting Irishman’ who throughout his long life rose to fight injustice and inequality and tirelessly brought courage, compassion, imagination, and integrity to the academy and the profession of event and tourism education.
Fortunately, thanks in part to Don Hawkins, hundreds of millions of tourists tourists may now benefit from an authentic touristic experience while enjoying our national parks all over the world as well as through space travel. When Don first described space travel to me in 1993 in that dim, poorly decorated, and dusty classroom where he inspired thousands of students over many years, my eyebrows rose to the ceiling with interest and fascination. Suddenly at 8pm I was wide awake and eager to learn more. Now, how many people do you know who may regularly cause that effect?
Don Hawkins was indeed a most unique individual, professor, and human being whose leadership and tenacity helped create a better world for all of us and I shall forever be grateful for his admonishment, fighting spirit, praise, and now eternal friendship.
Professor Joe Goldblatt is Emeritus Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His views are his own. For more information about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot