2023年度入学式告辞

As we hold the 2023 entrance ceremony here today, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the new students. I can only imagine the joy of their parents. It is truly a joyous day to welcome the new students to this Oshikawa Memorial Hall on Itsutsubashi Campus, which has just opened this year.

Today, all of you entering the university have completed your high school studies. This year, thanks in part to the opening of our new campus and four new faculties, we received a large number of applications. You have been selected, earned the right to enroll, and become students of Tohoku Gakuin University. We respect and accept each and every one of you as an irreplaceable individual, and we promise to fully support you for the next four years until your graduation.

Tohoku Gakuin University is the largest private comprehensive university in the Tohoku and Hokkaido region, with nine faculties, six graduate Graduate Schools, and a total of 11,000 students. It was founded in 1886 (Meiji 19) as Sendai Theological Seminary, with two teachers and six students, by Masayoshi Oshikawa, who became the first member of a Protestant church in Japan, and William Hoy, an American missionary who supported Oshikawa and worked hard to establish the college. This year marks its 137th anniversary. After about five years, Sendai Theological Seminary changed its name to Tohoku Gakuin (North Japan College), and under the guidance of missionary David Schneider, Hoy's successor, it developed into a university in 1949, which it remains today. Since its founding, Tohoku Gakuin has produced a total of 200,000 graduates. These graduates are doing good work in Sendai, in Tohoku, and not only in the world, in all kinds of workplaces and homes.

First, the foundation of our university's educational philosophy, which we call the "founding spirit," is Christian-based character education. Article 1 of the university regulations states, "Tohoku Gakuin University aims to contribute to the creation of world culture and the welfare of humankind by imparting broad knowledge and deeply teaching and researching specialized academic disciplines, thereby developing intellectual, moral, and applied abilities, based on Christian-based character education." We explain this founding spirit as our school motto, LIFE LIGHT LOVE. This is a phrase that has been familiar to Tohoku Gakuin graduates for a long time. LIFE means valuing the lives and personalities of others as much as one's own (individual dignity), LIGHT means illuminating others brightly through achievements in academics, science, and club activities (contribution to society), and LOVE means not only loving oneself but also being loved by others (love for one's neighbor).

In accordance with this founding spirit, university worship services are held daily from Monday to Friday at 10:20 a.m. during the semester at the Oshikawa Memorial Hall and the Rahäuser Memorial Tohoku Gakuin Chapel on the campuses located in Itsutsubashi and Tsuchitoi. We hope that you will calm your mind, attend the serene and solemn university worship service, read the Bible under the sound of the pipe organ, listen to a message based on the Bible, come to understand the core spirit of the academy, and reflect on who you are and how you should interact with your neighbors.

Now, what is the difference between the university you will be studying at and the high school you have been attending? In high school, there are textbooks, and if you memorize the correct answers according to the textbooks, your next step, university, is guaranteed. However, after graduating from university, there is no guaranteed next stage. Once you graduate from university, all that awaits you is civil society where you must live by your own abilities, that is, your own merit, until the day you die. During your four years at university, you must acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to live a better life.

Therefore, the way of studying is different. In high school, the word "study" is written with the kanji characters for "learn" and "follow." In university, however, it is written with the kanji characters for "learn" and "master," and is called "studying." The character for "master" is the same character as in "training" or "master's degree," and it means to acquire or master something. In other words, in high school, it refers to a passive attitude of learning where you learn from teachers and textbooks, whereas in university, a more proactive attitude of learning is required, where students themselves are expected to acquire as much ability as possible. Many people say that it's okay as long as you can graduate from university, but that is a big mistake. Those days are over. There are tons of university graduates. Such people are like people who go out into civil society unarmed, without acquiring the skills they should be able to demonstrate in the future.

So, how can you acquire the necessary skills? Tohoku Gakuin University has opened a new campus and established four new faculties this academic year, but in addition to that, we have prepared the following three new learning systems for new students.

First, there is data science, which is often called the modern equivalent of "reading, writing, and arithmetic." As you know, the 5G society, which transmits massive amounts of data at high speed, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which imbues everything with artificial intelligence, are rapidly accelerating and increasing the mass production and consumption of goods and services. You will all need to make full use of these information tools and create value from the vast amount of data they leave behind. I can no longer say that I don't need to understand such systems because I'm a humanities student and didn't take math for my entrance exams. As an entry point to learning data science, I have made "Fundamentals of Statistical Thinking" a required elective course in TG Basic, which all students can take. It's elective, but don't hesitate to take it. Professors specializing in information science will explain it in an easy-to-understand way for humanities students. This is the strength of a comprehensive university that "integrates humanities and sciences."

Secondly, there is active learning. I believe you all took a "Comprehensive Inquiry Time" course in high school. Modern society is composed of complex mechanisms, and solving problems in a complex society cannot be done with a single discipline, such as law or engineering. Therefore, an active learning method, which is a proactive way of learning, is required. The "Problem Inquiry" course group in TG Basic, which all students can take, has been increased to include problem-solving type classes where students learn methods for solving problems related to careers, local communities, and volunteer work, actually investigate and think about them, and receive rigorous evaluations from students of different faculties, and even small-group seminars have been set up. We want students from different faculties to learn from each other and grow together by seeing that different faculties can offer different perspectives. To that end, the university has prepared "Learning Commons," facilities for active learning equipped with some of the best ICT equipment in Eastern Japan, at the Hoy Memorial Hall in Tsuchitoi and the Schneider Memorial Hall in Itsutsubashi.

The third is the use of "TG-folio," also known as an e-portfolio. While "portfolio" is originally a financial term for asset management, "TG-folio" is a system that allows students to review their learning achievements and check how well they have acquired the skills to achieve their goals using their computers. During job hunting, students can download a certificate called a "diploma supplement" from it and show it to potential employers. This certificate will include and prove not only academic performance but also extracurricular activities such as athletic clubs, cultural associations, and student circles, as well as scores from external foreign language proficiency tests, study abroad experiences, and volunteer work experience. We hope that students will use "TG-folio" to stay focused on their goals and enjoy their student life.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has plagued us for the past three years, finally seems to be coming to an end. So, from today, you are all members of Tohoku Gakuin University. Tohoku Gakuin University is becoming a new place, and so are you all. Set clear goals for yourselves, find your place in the athletic clubs, cultural clubs, or other student organizations, and make the most of the advantages of our urban campus—convenient for commuting and closest to the heart of Sendai—to enjoy a fulfilling student life. The university will spare no effort in supporting you in achieving this.

Finally, I would like to share a famous quote from the Bible: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). Congratulations on your admission!

April 4, 2023
Haruki Onishi, President of Tohoku Gakuin University