Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Friends,
I hope you and your family are safe and happy as we close out the final days of summer and dive into the busyness of the fall. The 2020-21 fiscal year was full of uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe. While the pandemic created a host of challenges for our work at JICUF, it also provided an opportunity to reflect and plan for the future. I would like to share the results of our planning in this letter.
In the spring of 2020, with many of our program on hold, JICUF launched into strategic planning. New mission and vision statements were adopted in September 2020 and three key areas of focus were identified soon after. Please refer to this link to read our new mission and vision statements and to learn about our key areas of focus: sustainability, DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) and peacebuilding.
With renewed clarity about our vision, mission and goals, we began an extensive evaluation of our grantmaking to the ICU community. The evaluation was forward looking and focused on how we can improve the guidelines, procedures, and overall impact of the program. The results are a redesigned grants program, which we relaunched this month. One of the most exciting developments is that alumni are eligible to apply for funding for the first time. To learn more about the grants program, please click here.
Meanwhile, JICUF also found new ways to connect with constituents through online programs. Japan and the Sustainable Development Goals was an online series of webinars we organized in the fall and winter of 2021, and the ongoing Global Alumni Speakers Series provided a great way to connect with ICU students and alumni during the pandemic.
JICUF has continued to administer the United States Scholars Initiative, Syrian Scholars Initiative and Study Abroad Scholarship programs during the pandemic. However, it has been frustrating that non-Japanese students are unable to enter Japan because of the continued COVID travel ban. I wrote an article that was published in The Japan Times this summer encouraging Japan to reopen its borders to international students. In the meantime, many international students have matriculated virtually and are taking online courses at ICU.
As we look towards the future, I am confident that our partnership with ICU will continue to grow in meaningful ways. This conviction is strengthened by the incredible people that make up the JICUF/ICU community. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Paul Hastings
Highlights from fy2020-21
Online Programs Provide Connections During the Pandemic
The Japan ICU Foundation’s work is centered on building connections between people. While we have not been able to support activities on the ICU campus or student and faculty travel for research and service activities, online programming has enabled us to maintain and even expand connections during the pandemic. This article outlines the online programs we implemented since the outbreak of the pandemic.
JICUF Grantee Highlight: Exploratory Thesis Fieldwork at Mt. Kōya by Philip Reed
Last fall, ICU graduate student Philip Reed, majoring in Japanese Culture Studies within the Comparative Culture department, was awarded a grant from the JICUF Student Activities Fund to conduct fieldwork at Mt. Kōya.
Alumni Stories
Alumni Stories No. 17 – Ms. Fusae Nara
Ms. Fusae Nara graduated from the College of Liberal Arts in 1983 and the Graduate School of Public Administration in 1985 with a concentration in International Law.
Alumni Stories No. 16 – Mr. Shinichi Hirabayashi
Mr. Shinichi Hirabayashi graduated from the College of Liberal Arts in 1963 and the Graduate School of Public Administration in 1965. He was the President of the ICU Alumni Association of the Americas in the early 2000s and currently resides in Connecticut.
Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2020 – 2021
JICUF provided the following support to ICU between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.
Financial Support for Campus Facilities
- ICU Church – $250
Total Support for Campus Facilities – $250
Financial Support for Students
- Emergency COVID-19 Fund – $100,000
- Syrian Scholars Initiative – $65,261.35
- Fujimoto Peace Bell Scholarship – $60,000
- United States Scholars Initiative – $31,463.26
- Norman Sun and Ruth Q. Sun Fund for Chinese Students – $28,348.63
- Study Abroad Scholarship – $20,500
- James C. Caraher Scholarship Fund – $16,123.92
- Warnhuis Fund – $12,568.01
- Student Travel Fund – $6,913.74
- Peace Bell Scholarship – $5,270
- General Scholarship Support – $5,169.25
- Horie Takamatsu and Koh Endowed Scholarship – $2,000
- ICU High School – $2,000
- Valley Foundation Fund – $1,332.21
- Common Good Grant Student Project – $1,000
- Jessie M. Bader Asian Scholarship Fund for Asian Students- $889.97
- Torch Relay Scholarship – $100
Total Support for Students – $358,940.34
Financial Support for Faculty
- ICU Zoom Grant – $33,220
- UBCHEA Endowment Fund for Christian Professors from China- $12,568.01
- Faculty Program Grants – $2,601.34
Total Support for Faculty – $48,389.35
2020-2021 Contributions to JICUF
Peace Bell Scholarship: $65,270
Unrestricted Contributions: $27,583.82
Emergency COVID-19 Fund: $18,160
Syrian Scholars Initiative: $3,725
United States Scholars Initiative: $2,850
JICUF Global Scholarships: $2,550
Study Abroad Scholarship: $2,300
ICU High School: $2,000
Exchange Student Scholarship: $1,100
ICU Church: $250
ICU Torch Relay Scholarship: $100
Total Contributions to JICUF: $151,412.42
List of 2020-2021 Donors
Donations received from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021
$10,000 and above
Atsuko & Akira Fujimoto, Mutsuko Endo Hudson
$2,000 to $9,999
Laura Chiu & Shin-Cheng Simon, Benjamin & June Duke, Stephen Dyer, Seitaro Kuno, Elizabeth Landerholm, Hsin-Pei Patty Lin, Hsin-Ying Lin, Yasuyuki & Judy Owada, Weimin Yuan
$1,000 to $1,999
David Chan, Cynthia Chang & Brian Scanlan, Machi Fukuyama Dilworth, Danny Ha, Koaki Harris, Noriko Iwase, Kazuko & Chad Love, Iqbal Mamdani, Yoshiro Matsuo, Fusae & Yuzuru Nara, Shozo Noda, Delores & Jon Roeder, George & May Wang
$500 to $999
Paul Hastings & Debbie Wissel, Fred & Eleanor Honaman, Hiroaki Iizawa, Shoji Kent Ikeda, Kazuyuki Matsumoto, Nakako Memon, David & Zenora Rackham, Atsuko Rasic, Masatomo Sakairi, Susan Schmidt, John Coventry Smith, Jr., Naofumi Tomita, Kurt Tong & Mika Marumoto
$200 to $499
Anonymous, Masako & Jeff Carpenter, William Clark, Mikiko Davis, Jenifer Dravillas, Joan Ericson, Lois Geeslin, David Hart, Hisako Hirose, Craig Ichinose, Yoshikuni Igarashi, Takamitsu & Mitsuko Ito, Kimihiko Iwamura, Helene Keran, Richard Mellott, Reiko Mito, Takako Miyazaki, Yasuko Moyer, Ryo Nakamura, Mina Nishimura, Izumi & Michael Osawa-Minevich, Mieko Peek, Mary & Bruce Rigdon, David P. L. Sachs, Haruko Sakakibara, Shio Sakon, Haruko Shino, Yuko Sugiyama Lynch, Harumi Takahashi, Roy & Ute Tellini, Anne Goodsell Van der Karr, Hiroko Matsushima Williams, Joan M. Wong, Junichiro Yatsu, Emma Lee Yu
$100 to $199
Mutsumi Angevine, Yukiko Aoki, Yuko Aoyama, Chihae Arafune, Michael H. Armacost, Annie Awanohara,Satomi Ban, Miyoko Morita Boswell & Richard Boswell, Elizabeth Bryant, Kenneth & Eloise Dale, Susan Duke, Yoshinari Fujinuma, Ana Galvez,Thomas & Carol Hastings, Midori Hirai Kunitsugu, Yasuyuki & Donna Horie, Atsuko Hotta, Donald Johnston, Taka Juba, Mitsuhiro & Kaede Kaneda, Tomoko Nakamori Kempf, Doris Kersten, Yuriko Kuchiki, Samuel Nukazawa, Kiyo Okazaki, Kazumi & Robert Pestka, Stanley Reedy, George & Etsuko Schulenberg, Naoki & Evelyn Shimazaki, Motoko Shimizu, Tomoko Takahashi, Valerie Hoffman Takai, Eri Takano, Tomohiro Takano, Colin Teraoka, Dorothy G. Thomason, Jinx Tong, Kenichi & Deborah Ujie, Amy Oda Uyemura, Kenta Watanabe, Kazue Watlington, Yoshiya Yamada, Shion Yamamoto
Below $100
Akiko Abley, Donald Anderson, Carl & Marie Bade, Beverly Bienstock, Regis & Marilyn Birckbichler, Matthew Burt, Barbara Larson Cambridge, Ayako Cone, Carmen Dagnino, Keita Ebisu, Dorothy Gibbs, Dale Haworth & Karen Beall, Paul Kidder, William Kuyper, Harvey Maeda, Nancy Mulford, Saaya Nakamura, Mitsuko Oseto ODonnell, Tsuyoshi Ohyama, Kazuko Page, Yoichi Suzuki, Tamiki Takayashiki, Kurt & Leslie Thompson, Yoichi Usui, Yoshiko Vratanina, Louise & Laurence Woodruff, Tsumugi Yamamoto
Corporations, organizations & memorial funds
Adobe, Alice Davis Trust, Elrick Williams Memorial Fund, April Manzinger Fund, Blackbaud Giving Fund, J.U. & Hazel Simmons Scholarship Fund, Legacy II Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation
Dr. Hachiro Yuasa Society
The Dr. Hachiro Yuasa Society was formed to recognize those thoughtful graduates and friends who make an estate gift or other form of deferred gift to the Japan ICU Foundation.
Tamiko & Harvey Anderson
Jean Ando
Hatsuya Azumi
Arthur & Danita Bauer
Ray & Hazel Bayley
Thomas Benson
Emily Clifford Jackson
Benjamin & June Duke
Joan Ericson
Atsuko & Akira Fujimoto
Margaret Garrison
Paul Hastings & Debbie Wissel
Shinichi Hirabayashi
Fred & Eleanor Honaman
Shinobu Kusakabe
Douglas Melick
Hiroshi & Ikuko Mizukami
Nancy Mulford
Shozo Noda
Yasuyuki & Judy Owada
John Pearson
David Pittle
Peter & Amy Prahar
Delores & Jon Roeder
Shyanne & Kurt Roeloffs
Hallam Shorrock
Lin & David Vikner
Louise & Laurence Woodruff
Taizanso Society
The Taizanso Society honors donors who have made cumulative contributions to the Japan ICU Foundation totaling more than $100,000.
Henry Berman
Atsuko & Akira Fujimoto
Donald & Mildred Topp Othmer
Yasuyuki & Judy Owada
Fumiko & Yukihiko Sasaki
Thank you to all of those who generously supported our work this past year. We rely on the ongoing support of ICU’s alumni and friend community in North America. The donations listed here were received between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch.