Dear Colleagues and Friends: Memorial services are always bittersweet occasions. They remind us of what we’ve lost. But they also offer us the opportunity to truly celebrate the life accomplishments of the person in whose honor we gather. Today’s ceremony for Dr. Michitoshi Soga is a wonderful example of that duality. At Western Michigan University, we pride ourselves on being learner centered, discovery driven and globally engaged. I can think of no single member of our community who more strongly embodied all three attributes. As a university, community, state and nation, we are better because 45 years ago, Dr. Soga chose to make this university and this community his home and the place where he used his extraordinary talents. The learners on our campus were mentored by a master theoretical physicist for whom discovery was at the heart of the discipline he loved. And Dr. Soga’s nation of birth and his adopted nation soared to new levels of engagement because of his commitment to crosscultural understanding. Michitoshi Soga’s unofficial title of WMU’s “Ambassador to Japan” means he left a legacy that includes thousands of Japanese alumni, scores of new community friends who first came here as visitors and generations of young people who will be forever affected by their studies in the Battle Creek Japanese school that Dr. Soga helped establish. Our friends from Japan who are here today join us to celebrate a lifetime devoted to bringing two nations together. Virtually every major visitor who came from Japan to West Michigan for business or educational purposes during the past few decades had the opportunity to meet and know Michitoshi Soga as a friend. Today we note the loss of our friend, and we celebrate the joy of friendships that were nurtured and will last forever because he was part of our community. Thank you for being here. With warmest regards,
Dr. John M. Dunn President Western Michigan University 8