by Jake F. Dunagan
Introduction
On December 10, 2005, approximately 25 people gathered in UH-Manoa’s Saunders Hall to help envision a preferred future for the Hawai’i Research Center for Futures Studies (HRCFS; the Center). Jim Dator was not present. The majority of the group included current students (such as myself), but many futures alumni and individuals in the extended network of HRCFS advocates were also present. The Center, and the futures studies “program” within the Department of Political Science, were going through a significant bureaucratic, financial transformation. Moreover, there was a sense that the mission and meaning of the Center was in the midst of a big change. At least it felt so to us at the time—maybe that is a perpetual state of affairs. Those who participated were personally invested in helping imagine and create a long and prosperous future for the Center.(continue…)