News and Topics

2023.07.10

On June 30, a keynote speech and panel discussion were held at the Kwansei Gakuin Hall to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the agreement between Southern Methodist University (SMU) and KGU. SMU, a private university, was founded in 1911 in Dallas, Texas by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Due to SMU sharing a parent organization with KGU, the universities have actively conducted faculty exchanges for many years, and some of KGU’s own faculty members, including the first Dean of the School of Business Administration, Professor Rintaro Aoki, have come from the group of KGU alumni who studied abroad at SMU before and after World War II. In 1979, SMU became KGU’s first overseas partner university, and since then,  many exchange students have studied at both campuses. Over 40 years have passed since the signing of the agreement, and the following event was held as an opportunity for both universities to look back on past exchanges and consider the future development of exchange programs and study abroad programs.

The event was attended by students on the SMU in Japan program who were visiting Japan for KGU Summer School, KGU alumni who had previously been exchange students at SMU, Trinity University Vice President Megan Mustain, and a number of faculty and staff members, who engaged in a lively question and answer session. Former Chair of the Board of Trustees and President Ken Takeda, who stayed at SMU in 1989 as an exchange professor, also attended and expressed his views, and the event served as a moment for attendees to reflect on the significance of overseas exchange programs and the future development of exchanges between SMU and KGU.

Event overview

▽ Opening remarks by Shizuka Narita, Vice President International, KGU
▽ Keynote Speech by Dr. David Lee, SMU Assistant Vice President for Curricular Operations and Strategy, SMU
▽ History of SMU & KGU by Professor Naoya Hase, Associate Dean, Center for International Education and Cooperation
▽ Panel Discussion: "The Educational Significance of Overseas Exchange Programs"

MC:
・Dr. Hiroki Takeuchi, Associate Professor of Political Science, SMU

Panelists:
・Ms. Christie Pearson, Director of Education Abroad, SMU
・Professor Naoya Hase, Associate Dean, CIEC, KGU (SMU exchange student, 1980)
・Ms. Mariko Isozaki, CIEC exchange coordinator, 2014-2017, KGU
・Mr. Kenji Yamanaka (SMU exchange student, 2015 Fall-2016 Spring)
・Mr. Yuta Beppu (SMU exchange student, 2021 Fall-2022 Spring)