【波士顿双语网2023年11月讯】在过去三年的新冠疫情期间,大波士顿地区有多位杰出华人学者去世,因为疫情而无法举行正常的追悼会。曾经对哈佛中国教育论坛给予支持和指导的国际教育专家花海燕教授就是这样一位优秀学者,他于2021年9月因病去世。
哈佛大学教育研究生院(HGSE)2021年9月发文哀悼该院资深花海燕(Ed.M.1987、Ed.M.1989、Ed.D.1996)的去世。海燕博士是一位影响力遍及美国、亚洲、非洲、东欧和中东地区的国际教育专家,于2021年9月26日去世,享年67岁。
花海燕出生于中国武汉,1986年来到美国,开始在HGSE学习。他很快成为国际教育队伍的重要成员,并继续获得教育博士学位。并最终加入该项目的教师队伍。
在 HGSE 任教的名誉教授诺埃尔·麦克吉恩 (Noel McGinn) 表示:“哈佛教育研究生院吸引并明智地承认了优秀的学生,不仅因为他们的智力能力,而且因为他们对帮助他人实现目标的坚定承诺。” “花海燕在经历了个人逆境后,培养了对他人的同情心,并在分析和领导方面具备了非凡的技能。他不仅是那种激发老师学习更多的欲望的学生,而且是一位开诚布公的同事教会了我新的方法 看教育。”
作为一名教员,花海燕特别支持首次在美国生活的国际学生,分享自己的故事,鼓励学生与同学分享他们的经历和文化,以此加深学习、创建社区和建立社区。加强 HGSE 的整体实力。“你只能让学校变得更好、更具竞争力,”他在新生入学典礼上向一名新生保证。
“海燕有一种保持简单并确保只满足需求的技巧。没有多余的东西,没有多余的东西,也绝对没有浪费。简单,”联合国儿童基金会驻孟加拉国的教育顾问肯尼思·拉塞尔 (Kenneth Russell) 说道,他是 00 年教育硕士、12 年教育博士。“他知道人们喜欢他的故事,他也喜欢讲述这些故事。从来没有一门课不包含该领域的工作故事,其中有很多建议,让我们即使面对巨大的逆境,也能继续关注我们共同的人性。每当他讲故事妨碍我们完成课程计划时,他就会说“不过没关系。” 我认为这意味着这就是当下所需要的。我会记得他相信每个人都可以在改变世界中发挥作用,他一生都以最大的热情践行这一信念。”
在HGSE,花海燕教授的课程包括教育政策研究和统计、监测和评估以及发展背景下的数据决策。他与学生建立了深厚的关系,提供的建议和指导超越了亚壁古道,并延伸到学生在全球教育和国际发展方面的职业生涯。
“海燕在很多方面都是一位独特的导师和朋友,”波士顿非营利组织世界教育的高级技术顾问 Adam Turney(14 届教育硕士)说道。“无论他多么容易批评你不成熟的想法,他总是通过在你的回答中找出漏洞来提供反馈,直到你自己得出合理的结论。他真正完善了一种教导人们如何独立思考的方法,他对学生和同事能力的坚定信念是无与伦比的。海燕的持久影响在世界各地教育机构工作的无数 HGSE 毕业生中显而易见,他们至今仍在谈论海燕对他们的生活和职业的影响。”
在近四十年的教育政策研究和规划以及机构能力发展方面,花海燕先生曾担任多个国际发展项目的首席研究员、项目主任或顾问,包括世界银行、美国国际开发署、联合国教科文组织和联合国儿童基金会。最近,他担任世界教育非洲分部副总裁。尽管他已经从教师岗位退休,但花海燕经常作为课堂和活动的嘉宾回到 HGSE,与学生和整个社区保持联系。
“在认识他的 35 年里,我钦佩海燕的职业道德和通过教育改善世界的承诺、他的谦逊以及他与各种各样的人有效合作的能力,”HGSE 教授费尔南多·雷默斯 (Fernando Reimers) 说道。他是花海燕的同学,也是 HGSE 和哈佛国际发展研究所 (HIID) 的同事。“他帮助开发了监测和信息系统,协助发展中国家政府有效利用资源来推进教育。他帮助世界各地教育部的数千名同事获得了使用证据支持 HIID、HGSE 教育战略的技能,并担任世界教育副总裁。他通过在 HGSE 的娴熟教学间接影响了世界各地数十名儿童的教育机会。我们会怀念他的存在,同时铭记他,并感谢他对 HGSE 和世界做出的许多贡献。”
HGSE Remembers Haiyan Hua, An Expert in International Development
Sept. 29, 2021

The Harvard Graduate School of Education is mourning the loss of former lecturer Haiyan Hua, Ed.M.’87, Ed.M.’89, Ed.D.’96. An international education specialist whose influence was felt throughout the United States, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, Hua passed away September 26 at the age of 67.
Born in Wuhan, China, Hua came to the United States in 1986 to begin his studies at HGSE. He quickly became a vital member of the International Education cohort, going on to earn his Ed.D. and, eventually, to join the program’s faculty.
"The Harvard Graduate School of Education attracted, and had the wisdom to admit, students outstanding not only for their intellectual ability but also their deep commitment to helping others realize their objectives," says Professor Emeritus Noel McGinn, who taught Hua at HGSE. "Through the personal adversity he had suffered Haiyan Hua developed compassion for others and exceptional skills, in analysis and in leadership. He was not only the kind of student who spurs a teacher's desire to learn more, but a colleague who opened taught me new ways to see education."
As a faculty member, Hua was of particular support to international students living in the United States for the first time, sharing his own story and encouraging students to share their experiences and cultures with their classmates as a way to deepen learning, create community, and strengthen HGSE as a whole. “You can only make the school better and more competitive," he assured one incoming class at orientation.
“Haiyan had a knack for keeping it simple and ensuring it was only what was required. Nothing extra, no excess, and absolutely no waste. Simplicity,” says Kenneth Russell, Ed.M.’00, Ed.D.’12, an education consultant at UNICEF in Bangladesh. “He knew people loved his stories and he loved to tell them, too. There was never a class that did not include stories of work in the field with lots of tips on remaining focused on our shared humanity even in the face of great adversity. Whenever his storytelling got in the way of completing what we planned for a class, he would say 'but that's alright.' I took that to mean it is what the moment required. I will remember him as someone who believed everyone has a role to play in changing the world, a belief which he lived with utmost passion his entire life.”
At HGSE, Hua taught classes in education policy research and statistics, monitoring and evaluation, and data decision-making in the development context. He fostered deep relationships with his students, offering advice and mentorship that extended beyond Appian Way and into his students’ careers in global education and international development.
“Haiyan was a unique mentor and friend in so many ways,” says Adam Turney, Ed.M.’14, senior technical adviser at World Education, a Boston-based nonprofit. “No matter how easily he could critique a half-baked idea you had, he always gave feedback by poking holes in your responses until you came to a sensible conclusion on your own. He truly perfected a way to teach people how to think for themselves and his unwavering belief in the abilities of his students and colleagues was unmatched. Haiyan’s lasting impact is evident among the countless graduates of HGSE working in education institutions around the world who talk about his influence on their lives and careers to this day.”
In his nearly four decades in educational policy research and planning and institutional capacity development, Hua served as principal investigator, program director, or consultant for numerous international development programs, including The World Bank, USAID, UNESCO, and UNICEF. Most recently, he was vice president for the Africa division for World Education. Although he had retired from teaching, Hua returned to HGSE often as a guest in classes and at events, keeping connected to the students and the community as a whole.
“Over the course of 35 years [knowing him], I admired Haiyan’s work ethic and commitment to improving the world through education, his humility, and his ability to work effectively with a wide diversity of people,” says Professor Fernando Reimers, an HGSE classmate of Hua’s and a colleague at HGSE and the Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID). “He helped develop monitoring and information systems that assisted governments in the developing world in making effective use of resources to advance education. He helped thousands of colleagues in ministries of education around the world gain skills in using evidence to support education strategies at HIID, HGSE, and as vice president of World Education. And he indirectly impacted the educational opportunities of scores of children around the world through his skillful teaching at HGSE. We will miss his presence as we keep his memory, with gratitude for his many contributions to HGSE and to the world.”
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