Dr. Kukk is Professor of Political Science at Western Connecticut State University, a Fulbright Scholar, founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation, faculty advisor for the University (WCSU) and City (Danbury, CT) of Compassion initiatives, Director of the Honors Program, founder of the University’s Debate Team, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College and his B.A. in political science from Boston University. He was also an international security fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. His research and publications focus on education issues, the political economy of natural resources, as well as the creation and sustainability of civil society. Dr. Kukk was also a counter-intelligence agent for the United States Army, a research associate for Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and has provided the Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Economist magazine, NBC-TV, CableVision, and local radio stations with analysis regarding American politics and U.S. foreign policy.
Connections.Bridging knowledge with wisdom and compassion.Weaving the elements of exceptional education together in a way that excites and inspires students. This is what Chris Kukk’s Connected Five Cs™ is all about. An education that bridges knowledge with wisdom seeks to blend the scientist with the artist and the philosopher with the practitioner to create scholars that are engaged citizens. Dr. Kukk’s current research and forthcoming books on the
Connected Five Cs™ are about building one such educational bridge. The Five Cs system is based on the premise that the purpose of an education is to develop student capacities for knowing (concept), imagining (creativity), understanding (compassion), doing (courage) and questioning (constraint).
Dr. Kukk’s is currently writing curriculum that weaves the learning of compassion into the common core standards. The first K–5 book (
Connecting Space) and its accompanying teacher’s guide will be finished soon. Watch Chris talk about inertia in a preview from his upcoming book
Connecting Space (see the video below).
To learn more,
download Chris Kukk’s essay, Educating through the Five Cs.This piece was included in the 2012 collection
Creativity and Compassion: How They Come Together (Karuna Press, 2012), and is the foundation for his current work.
