On March 19th, JICUF staff participated in the Harumatsuri (Spring Festival) organized by the Northeast Council of Japanese Teachers (NECTJ) at the United Nations International School (UNIS). Through hosting a “Chopsticks Challenge,” we introduced ICU and our U.S. Scholars Initiative to NYC metro area high school students studying Japanese.
On January 18th, the Alumni Association’s NY Chapter and JICUF co-hosted a shinnenkai in Manhattan, and approximately 30 alumni gathered to celebrate the new year.
ICU graduate student Eleazar Puguon was awarded a JICUF student grant of ¥75,000 for his project, “Fiestas sa Pinas.” Together with fellow graduate student Jenni Fajardo, he planned a Filipino Night on May 16th, an event to introduce Filipino culture, history and society to the ICU community.
ICU Professor Eckhard Hitzer received a JICUF faculty program grant to host the “Sustainable University Development Workshop – How Universities Can Promote Sustainability through Renewable Energy.” The workshop will be held on Saturday, May 27th on the ICU campus. The event is open to the public.
On Sunday, September 18th, the JICUF hosted an ICU and ICU High School Joint Information Session at the Interchurch Center, where our office is located. ICU President Junko Hibiya, who was in New York to attend the JICUF trustees meeting, gave a presentation about the university to an audience mostly comprised of prospective students and their families.
The Sacred Music Center hosted a special performance event, “Sacred Voices”, in the university chapel on June 4th. Senior Associate Professor Matt Gillan, Director of the Center, planned the event with the university organist and instructor, Ms. Mamiko Iwasaki. The JICUF was honored to provide financial support for this unique initiatve.
Daniel Fernández is a graduate student and Rotary Peace Fellow (Class XIII) at ICU. In the spring term, the JICUF awarded a program grant of ¥544,000 for his project, “Rethinking Translation, Memory and Dialogue through Butoh-based Performance.” We sat down with Daniel for a few questions.
