JICUF has helped recruit seven Syrian students through the Syrian Scholars Initiative. This year marks the final year of student recruitment for SSI, and we will continue to support refugee and displaced students through other means, including funding the Japanese Language School Pathways program administered by the NPO Pathways Japan.
In May, five Ukrainian students were welcomed to ICU through the Japan-Ukraine University Pathways program co-managed by JICUF and Pathways Japan. The program has since expanded to other universities in Japan.
In a joint effort with ICU to receive Ukrainian students at ICU, JICUF has launched the Ukrainian Student Fund. We ask for your support.
Ms. Sawa Nakagawa graduated from ICU in 1999. A true cosmopolitan, Ms. Nakagawa has spent much of her life abroad on multiple continents with a career in finance. She now resides in Nairobi, Kenya, and runs her own advisory firm focused on impact investing and social innovation. She graciously shared her story with us.
This year’s JICUF Undergraduate Research Day (URD) will take place on Friday, February 25. Graduating fourth year students at ICU will present their research in an online format. The event is open to all. We interviewed ICU fourth year student Le Xuan Chan, who is the Chief Ambassador for this year’s URD.
JICUF relaunched the grants program this fall, and awarded grants to 11 projects (three faculty, four students, four alumni). Here is the list of awardees.
Dr. Yutaka Morohoshi graduated from ICU in 1969, and has had an unusual career which took him around the world. Dr. Morohoshi graciously pledged a planned gift to JICUF this year, and joined the Hachiro Yuasa Society. We asked him to look back at his time at ICU, and the many adventures he has had.
Mr. Norimasa Orii graduated from ICU in 1991, and ICU High School in 1987. He has played a crucial role in JICUF’s scholarship program for Syrian students, the Syrian Scholars Initiative. In 2017, as Program Manager at the Japan Association for Refugees, Mr. Orii helped JICUF establish the Initiative, and has since worked with us to reach out to Syrian students in Turkey, identify eligible students, facilitate their entry to Japan, and support them after arrival. We asked the current Representative Director of Pathways Japan to reflect on his time at ICU and his career.
Mr. Edward K. Lenci, who practices law in New York City, studied at ICU as a kenkyusei (research student) from 1985 to 1986. As the incoming Chair of the International Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), he recently wrote about the year he spent in Japan to mark Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We are happy to share this article as part of our “Alumni Stories” series.
Current ICU undergraduate students Nanako Yaguchi, Stiven Horita, and Mia Fosco, as well as March 2021 graduate Manami Sekine will host the next session of the JICUF Global Alumni Speaker Series on Tuesday, May 25. The students attended one of the past sessions of the series, and approached JICUF about hosting their own session. They decided to invite 2015 graduate Honami Iizuka as the speaker.
