On 12 September (Sunday) this year, a Nanzankai gathering for international alumni will be held in Seoul, the Republic of Korea. We hope that a good number of former students will be able to attend.

Those who would like to attend please contact us on intl-alumni@nanzan-u.ac.jp. We look forward to seeing you all.

The 2010 CJS Fall Semester Entrance Ceremony was held at the Nagoya Campus on Thursday, September 2 to welcome in 148 students from some 25 countries and regions of the world. With great expectations, as well as a hint of trepidation on their faces, after the entrance ceremony the international students underwent orientation before starting their time as Nanzan students.

On August 7th, a London Nanzankai gathering was held at a very pleasant restaurant overlooking the Thames River. On this occasion, because President of Nanzan University Michael Calmano svd was to attend, the timing of the event was arranged to fit in with his schedule. The original plan was for Lucy North (CJS 1982, participant in the Summer Seminar for four British universities and graduate of Cambridge University) and other British former students who had attended the CJS to attend, but in the end they could not because the date ended up falling in their holidays, meaning that unfortunately only Japanese alumni came to this gathering. Nevertheless, the food was delicious, the conversation lively and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. Next time we hope that the former CJS students will also be able to attend.

This year, Japan Education Fairs run by JASSO (Japan Student Services Organization) have been held all over the world. Nanzan University has also actively taken part in these fairs in order to provide useful information to prospective students from overseas. There may even be people among you have taken part in one of these in the past.

One aspect of the Nanzan booth at these fairs that has established itself as a tradition in a way, is they way in which former students from overseas always lend a hand. As an example of this, at the fairs held in Kaohsiung and Taipei in Taiwan on 12 and 13 July this year, Ms. I-Ting Tsai (CJS 2009 Fall-2010 Spring) and Ms. Pei-Ying Liou (CJS 2008 Fall-2009 Spring) helped at the respective venues as interpreters for the Nanzan staff. They both passed on their own experiences, their honest impressions and thoughts of Nanzan University and of Japan or Nagoya to the young Taiwanese people who visited the booths.

Before the end of this year, Nanzan University plans to take part in Study Abroad Fairs in the Republic of Korea, France, Vietnam and Thailand. If you have time, when there is a fair held in your country, please do drop in to the Nanzan booth to say hello. Of course, if you can assist by interpreting for us that would be a great help! Our staff all look forward to seeing you again soon.

I came to Nanzan in 1977 from Illinois State University with my wife Barbara and a group of 17 students.  Barbara taught Nursing at Aichi Prefectural University.  Among the student names that I can remember in the group are:  Renee George, Lori Olson, Krist Seckinger, Amy Wilson, Robert Packheiser, and Robert Sonderman.

I taught Japanese history for the CJS and had a beautiful office on the second floor where the CJS is currently located.

One of my favorite memories is saying good-bye to the ISU students as their Japanese parents came to pick them up the morning after we had arrived.  Everyone looked happy and a little scared. I wondered if I would ever see them again. The home stays were all successful and some of the students still maintain contact with their Japanese parents.

The semester I spent at Nanzan was among the happiest six months of my life.  Father Hirschmeir was president and had a fabulous Christmas party. The next President, Father Robert Reimer, taught in the CJS and remained a good friend for years.  Among my other Japanese colleagues with whom I remain close were Ban Noriko-sensei, Iwano Ichiro-sensei, and Akashi Yoji-sensei. Akashi-sensei and I would often go out the back exit toward Nagoya University to have a beer on Friday.

After I moved from Illinois State University to California State University, Fullerton, as a vice president, one of the first things I did was to arrange an exchange between CSUF and Nanzan.

One other item of interest:  Renee George was my cousin. And her nephew, Philip Greenspan, also studied at Nanzan. So including myself, three generations of my family are alumni of Nanzan.

Saturday, 22 May 2010, the Nanzan University Center for Japanese Studies held a course completion ceremony for its 2009-2010 intake of students. President of Nanzan University Michael Calmano SVD presented 70 people with completion certificates and a further 45, including auditing students, with participation certificates.

At the ceremony, President of Nanzan University Michael Calmano SVD gave a speech in which congratulated those receiving certificates, and in response, heartfelt statements of gratitude were given by Mr. MORGEN, Max Tyler on behalf of the students.

A Bangkok Nanzankai alumni gathering was held from 2:00pm on 31 January 2010 in a banquet room at the Novotel Buvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. On this occasion, because we were fortunate enough to have Nanzan University President Michael Calmano SVD in attendance, it was held not only as a gathering for our international alumni, but as a Bangkok Nanzankai to include five of our Japanese alumni living in the Thai capital.

Those who went through the CJS in the first half of the 1980s also brought their children along. In addition, the participation of the younger graduates of the Faculty of Policy Studies has helped to reinvigorate the Bangkok alumni group. We had worried that the fact that the distance from the city center to the venue, the airport hotel where Nanzan University President Michael Calmano SVD was to stay, would deter many from attending, but as many as 30 people participated.

We recognize that the support of people who are already well-established in society is essential in order to hold this type of well-organized Nanzan alumni gathering overseas. On this occasion, we were indeed fortunate to be assisted by Mr. Thaweesak Karuchit (Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Co., Ltd.) who spent two years at the CJS from 1981. Mr. Thaweesak very kindly used his company secretary to communicate with the administrative office of the Nanzan International Students Alumni Network, to compile the list of people to attend and to contact them, to arrange the venue, and to run the reception on the day. We are deeply grateful for effort and the financial assistance offered to help make the gathering the success that it was. 

Noriko Ban

The first Manila Nanzankai for alumni of Nanzan University was held on 27 January at the Heritage Hotel in Manila, the Philippines.

The occasion was timed to coincide with the attendance of Nanzan University President Michael Calmano SVD at the 2010 Meeting of Presidents of SVD-Administered Universities, which was also held in the Philippines. Despite the lack of time in which to prepare for the gathering, Apollo Quirante, who is known as “Chou” (graduated from the Faculty of Policy Studies in 2008), did such a marvelous job with the arrangements that as many as 11 alumni attended. They were:

• Erika Sydney Ang  (CJS 2005-2006)

• Sheila Huang  (CJS 2001-2002)

• Dennis Mabalot (CJS 1999-2000) with his wife Kim, Hyun Mee (CJS 2000-2001) and their children, plus his sister Cindy Ayumi Gomez (graduate of the Faculty of Policy Studies) and her husband Geno Gomez (graduate of the Faculty of Policy Studies)

• Mary Rose Contreras   (CJS 1999-2000)

• Karen Ferrer Cadiz   (CJS 1989-1991)

• Raymond Sanvictores  (graduated from of the Faculty of Policy Studies in 2007)

• Apollo “Chou” J. Quirante (graduated from of the Faculty of Policy Studies in 2008)

• Kurt Villamil  (graduated from of the Faculty of Policy Studies in 2009)

The gathering started at 6:00pm, but was still going strong well after 10:00pm as those in attendance shared their reminiscences of their time at the Nagoya and Seto Campuses of Nanzan University. As they received some commemorative items from Nanzan University President Michael Calmano SVD, it was a night that made us all think how we hope that everyone will continue to cherish the fact that they are still members of the Nanzan family.

The two institutions that established agreements in the last year.
30/6/2009 Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Lima, Peru)
29/3/2010 University of Hawaii at Hilo (Hawaii, USA)

The NANZAN GET TOGETHER LONDON for former Nanzan students who have returned to the United Kingdom will be held on the date and at the venue indicated below.
Nanzan University President Michael Calmano SVD and Professor Emeritus Ms. Noriko Ban will be present to warmly welcome all of the alumni.
It is hoped that all alumni living in the vicinity of London will be able to attend.
Please contact Nanzan International Students Alumni Network intl-alumni@nanzan-u.ac.jp or London Nanzan-kai jetnanzan@yahoo.co.jp. RSVP by July 23, 2010.

This year, a NANZAN Get Together will be held on the date and at the venue indicated below. It will be the first reunion of former Nanzan students who have returned to the United States. Food and refreshments will be provided. We really hope that all Alumni living in the vicinity of Kansas City will be able to attend!

Furthermore, this gathering will be held in a shared area with the Nanzan University reception on this year’s annual general meeting of the NAFSA Association of International Educators.