UH Manoa's Jon Matsuoka appointed chair of commission

Dean of Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work to lead CSWE group

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Jackie Graessle, (808) 956-6245
School of Social Work
Posted: Jul 23, 2009


Jon Matsuoka, dean of the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been named chair of the Council on Social Work Education‘s (CSWE) Commission on Global Social Work Education.

The commission works with various organizations to promote international programs and to develop international dimensions of social work curricula. Matsuoka is tasked with, among other things, providing leadership in global social work education and research.

"Dr. Matsuoka brings a wealth of international and cross cultural experience to this important volunteer position. He has a special interest in indigenous populations and global climate change as relevant for social work education and the social work profession," notes Ira Colby, president of CSWE.

Since Matsuoka became dean, the UH Mānoa School of Social Work has experienced unprecedented international relationships, resulting in collaborations with the Philippines, China, Japan, Thailand, Palau, and the Northern Marianas. Students are regularly sent abroad for practicum experiences.

Matsuoka is also credited with the development of the 2007 five-day conference, "Indigenous Voices in Social Work: Not Lost in Translation," which attracted indigenous healers, teachers, and participants from places such as Aotearoa, Africa, Guam, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Canada, the Americas, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Taiwan, and Hawaiʻi.

For more information, visit: http://www.hawaii.edu/sswork/