June 23 - Earlier this month I spoke at the graduation ceremony of the Temple University Japan Class of 2009. TUJ has been designated an “American university, Japan campus.” Temple students, half of whom are Japanese, receive an American-style education, taught primarily in English, where professors emphasize critical thinking and problem solving.

I congratulated the students for obtaining a truly international education. In fact, the 262 graduates in the fields of arts, sciences, business, law and education represent more than 50 different countries. I was pleased to see that the four students chosen to give graduation speeches that day were from Japan, Korea, the United States and Russia.

I listened with interest as the Japanese woman who represented the undergraduates spoke of how she had never been allowed as a young student to study abroad. Now married, with children, at the age of 44, she was finally fulfilling her dream of graduating from an American university. I could see the determination in her face as she explained her decision to return to college at the age of forty. “I did not want to go through life with regrets,” she said.

As I listened to the student speeches, I thought that the multi-cultural and multi-national education these students received will prepare them well to enter a world facing serious, global challenges. More importantly, though, they have learned to recognize the value of diversity, and understand that everyone has something special to contribute to the world.

Until next time,

Jim