JICUF is launching the Global Scholarship Fundraising Campaign to ask alumni and friends to join us in our efforts to increase degree-seeking international students at ICU. On the campaign page, you can learn more about our main initiatives and ways to donate. Thank you for your support!
We are thrilled to announce Luke Takuya Palermo’s addition to the Japan ICU Foundation as our new Program Assistant. Luke’s job is to help the other full-time JICUF staff with tasks ranging from database management to article translation. We asked him to introduce himself.
This month, we are launching a new feature, “Alumni Stories,” in which we ask an ICU alum in North America to write about his/her time at ICU and how it has impacted his/her life. The first one up is Masako Kawashima, class of ’75. Masako has been an indispensable member of the Southern California Chapter of the Alumni Association.
ICU graduate student Silvia Luz Gonzalez Marquez received a JICUF Student Travel Fund grant for her research project, “Human Security for All: Persecuted Indigenous Christians in Mexico.” This August, she travelled to Chiapas and Mexico City to conduct fieldwork for her master’s thesis. Originally from Mexico, Luz is currently majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies, and she plans to stay at ICU for her PhD. We asked Luz a few questions about her research trip.
In late October, JICUF Executive Director Paul Hastings and Chair of the Board of Trustees Sam Shepherd visited ICU. They spent much of their time with President Junko Hibiya and the newly appointed Vice President for International Academic Exchange Mark Williams. They also met with several other members of the administration and staff, faculty and students receiving support from JICUF. Here are reports of the visit from Paul and Sam.
ICU High School sends several students to the Student Global Leadership Institute (SGLI) in Punahou School, Honolulu, every summer. Since 2011, JICUF has been supporting their participation in this summer program which aims to develop a community of youth leaders who “understand and are engaged in shared global challenges and who galvanize positive social change.”
On September 23rd, ICU’s Peace Research Institute and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations hosted an international symposium titled “War Refugees in International Law and the Role of Civil Society” at the Togasaki Kiyoshi Memorial Dialogue House. In June, ICU Professor Osamu Arakaki received a JICUF grant of ¥800,000 to organize the event.
Last month, Dr. Mark Williams assumed the post of Vice President for International Academic Exchange at ICU. We had the privilege of interviewing him on September 15th, when he visited New York to attend JICUF’s Board of Trustees meeting.
A team of ICU students led by Assistant Professor Hiromichi Matsuda participated in the 9th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Competition in Geneva from July 17th to 21st. Only the best teams from each UN region were invited to participate in this prestigious event, and ICU, along with 12 other university teams, qualified through the preliminary rounds in the Asia Pacific Region.
15 ICU students participated in JICUF’s summer program, Global Link, in July. This is part 2 of the report on their time in New York City and Washington, D.C.
