New Year's Greeting from the President

I would like to extend my warmest greetings at the beginning of 2024. Happy New Year.

The past year, 2023, was a milestone for Chuo University achieving the historic events of establishing the Myogadani Campus and the Surugadai Campus. These two major campus structures, introduced in “Chuo Vision 2025,” have been realized and a new era for Chuo University has begun.
We recognize that carrying out our plans to fulfill our mission within the new structure of downtown campuses and the Tama campus are essential. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the next 10 to 20 years will be crucial.

Regarding effective use of resources on the Tama campus following the relocation of the Law Faculty to Myogadani, we have carefully considered the development of an educational research organization and its environment from a mid- to long-term perspective.
The results of this consideration are compiled in “Consideration Committee of the Tama Campus Future Concept Report,” a supplement to “Chuo Vision 2025.”
The report introduces the establishment of a new faculty on the Tama Campus comprising cultural science and social science departments, and academic fields that enable horizontal and integrated new learnings of humanities and sciences. In addition, the report touches preparation of a campus environment “broadly open to maximize synergistic effects” through the interaction of students and faculty members with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Chuo University believes this will create new interdisciplinary values and aims to share those values with industry and the local community.
In AY 2024, we will deepen our focus in line with the report and move forward.
Specifically, our growth strategy in AY 2024 will pursue the following four points:

First is the promotion of DX. Chuo University acknowledges that in order to demonstrate the advantages of multiple campuses and successfully establish the structure of our main campuses in Tama and downtown Tokyo, it is necessary to further strengthen inter-campus and intra-campus collaboration that transcends organizational barriers. Furthermore, it is essential we build an integrated educational environment that students and faculty members will enjoy, offering the benefits of supported educational research activities regardless of their campus location. To realize these goals, we need to review administrative systems and optimize overall operations, such as creating one-stop service for education and research support functions, while establishing management and operational functions for shared facilities, based on the promotion of education/research DX and administrative DX.

Second is the further promotion of integrated education in humanities and sciences. Considerations are underway to establish a new faculty on the Tama Campus to replace the Faculty of Law and meet the demands of regional cooperation by effectively utilizing available resources and taking advantage of the location characteristics of the Tama campus. Recognizing that the Tama Campus has already been selected for the “FY 2023 Support Project for Strengthening the Functions of Universities and Colleges of Technology” (support for transformation to specific growth fields through reorganization of faculties, etc.), Chuo University will contribute to societal needs by promoting the fusion of humanities and sciences and cross-disciplinary learning. This effort will include the establishment of the Faculty of the Health Sports Science (tentative name) and the Faculty of Agricultural Information (tentative name) on the Tama Campus, where departments of cultural science and social science already exist, and will foster data-science specialists in fields such as digital green, etc. 　

Third is the enhancement of globalization. We will further internationalize educational research by sending students abroad and welcoming overseas students, and implementing an inter-faculty program to foster global individuals versed in diversity education and global entrepreneurship education, with an eye on obtaining external funding (subsidies, etc.) to advance Chuo University’s global strategies. In addition, Chuo University will develop and promote its global profile and work on broad-based international branding as a comprehensive University.

Fourth is collaboration with and contribution to the local community. We will further advance and expand activities that contribute to society based on the “Chuo University Philosophy on Community Relations and Social Contribution,” and promote Industry-Academia-Government joint research and recurrent education in coordination with the local community and wider society.

In these ways we will build a strong foundation for educational research that has ongoing and future relevance. In these ways we will work to enhance our educational research achievements and manage revisions in the Private School Law and the Standards for Establishment of Universities, moving into the development of our next mid- to long-term CHUO VISION in concrete term. Indeed, now more than ever we believe it is important for each one of us to demonstrate the creative ability that can be obtained through collaboration among faculty members.
I sincerely appreciate your understanding and support as we maintain our constant progress forward, and I hope you have a wonderful year 2024.

Hisashi Kawai
President, Chuo University
January 1, 2024