GREETINGS FROM
DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OFFICE

Supporting Japanese and International Students

Masaki Taniguchi

Head of the Japanese and International Student Support Section

With the Mascot of the
University of Rhode Island
where I studied 30 years ago

The role of the Japanese and International Student Support Section is to support both Japanese and international students in their studies and campus life at our university.

With the collaboration of the Health Service Center, we are doing our best to help our students, including those with physical and mental challenges, to keep both physically and mentally fit, to engage in and enhance their studies efficiently, to strive to attain their goals in life, and to contribute to the betterment of society.

To that cause we sometimes conduct surveys on the students’ life on and around campus in order to find out and remedy any difficulties they may face in their studies and their surroundings.

We also support the “Students’ Organization for Self-help and Official Support” (S.O.S.), which is officially authorized by the university. Their activities are autonomous and very active. They actively promote exchanges not only among students but also between students and the community. We support all other kinds of student activities of our university.

In addition, it is our aim and responsibility to facilitate international and intercultural exchanges between Japanese and international students and help them develop intercultural awareness. We intend to spare no effort in helping them become global citizens and contribute to the building of peace in the world.

When I was a student, I majored in speech communication and studied intercultural communication at the University of Rhode Island (URI) with Dr. Agnes G. Doody, my best teacher ever. She taught me the importance of intercultural understanding. I revisited my alma mater in March 2010, and had a reunion with Dr. Doody to learn more about this field from her. She not only welcomed me but also kindly introduced me to the new president of URI, Dr. Dooley.

I was impressed with his wonderful world view. In his presidential inaugural address, he said, “Our students must be prepared to succeed and to thrive in a century where it will be essential to build mutual understanding and shared trust among groups who have not been allies in the past, to find common ground in spite of profound differences in perspective, to work productively across boundaries and divisions that are deeply rooted in history, and to function among people of different cultures, ethnicities, languages, religions, orientations, and allegiances.” I wish to give him a heartfelt applause, for I am encouraged so much by his words and am determined to do the best I can in the enhancement of intercultural understanding.

I also wish to give a hearty applause to President Obama’s declaration for the abolition of nuclear weapons and to the great effort he is making to realize that dream. He reminds me of Gregory Peck who played the role of the President of the United States in the film, “Amazing Grace and Chuck,” in 1987. What a wonderful world it would be if we could realize this dream. If we could all understand and respect differences as well as similarities of all cultures in the world, it would lead to the abolishment of all arms, whether they be physical or psychological. This I believe is the ultimate aim of international exchanges and intercultural communication.

I would greatly appreciate everybody’s kind understanding, help and support for all the activities of the Japanese and International Student Support Section.