2021 Summer SUA Founders Newsletter

Summer 2021

congratulations class of 2021!

I N TH I S I S S U E

4 | Commencement 2021 8 | Soka Global Citizen Award 10 | 20th Anniversary Celebration 13 | Alumni Fund Update 14 | Faculty Highlight 18 | Learning Cluster Fair 20 | B2B Winners!

22 | World Summit of Educators

A M ESSAGE FROM THE PRE SID E NT

Dear Friends and Supporters, On behalf of the students, staff and faculty of Soka University of America (SUA), welcome to SUA Founders newsletter filled with exciting updates for our donors and friends.

With the conclusion of the academic year, I would like to express my appreciation to the entire campus community, our generous donors, precious alumni, and all of our supporters for your efforts and assistance during the past year. As we faced a global pandemic that impacted the way we functioned as a community, I was deeply moved by the genuine care that our community shared for one another during this time.

In May, we celebrated SUA Aliso Viejo campus’ 20th anniversary with a virtual celebration focusing on our recommitment to the founding principles and mission with many donors in attendance. During the event, SUA’s Board of Trustees bestowed two major honors on the university founder, Daisaku Ikeda: the establishment of an endowed chair in his name and naming the undergraduate program, Daisaku Ikeda College. At the event, our alumni and student speakers expressed their appreciation to our donors for providing financial support which gave them the opportunity to study at SUA. Despite the many challenges, our graduates persevered and successfully finished their capstone and master’s thesis. To recognize the accomplishments of our undergraduate students completing the bachelor’s degree program in Liberal Arts, and the graduate students completing the master’s degree program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change, we held the Class of 2021’s virtual Commencement ceremony on May 28th. Though it was our first time holding a virtual Commencement, the video and slides of each graduate were beautifully assembled to honor our precious students.

The World Summit of Educators commemorating the 25th anniversary of Mr. Ikeda’s address at Columbia University on education for global citizenship concluded with a rousing success in the middle of June. With the theme, “Educating for Global Citizenship: Building an Equitable, Peaceful, and Sustainable World,” the variety of panels addressed the important issues in the realm of education. We were honored to welcome Ms. Wanjira Mathai, vice president and regional director for Africa at World Resources Institute (WRI) and daughter of 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, as our keynote speaker.

After a year of remotely working, our staff and faculty will transition back to campus in preparation for the return of students for the 2021-2022 academic year. We are looking forward to welcoming our students back to SUA and reconnecting as a community in the Fall semester.

In closing, I would like to again express my appreciation to you, our sincere donors, for your support during the past year.

All of us at SUA feel your generous spirit to help actualize SUA’s mission of fostering global citizens committed to living a contributive life. We will continue to make even greater strides in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Ed Feasel, Ph.D. President

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“I would like to express my appreciation to you, our sincere donors, for your support during the past year.”

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CO M M E N C E M E NT 20 2 1

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Called to action by a 92-year-old American civil rights icon , the Soka University of America 2021 graduates

celebrated from worldwide locations in a virtual commencement attended by hundreds of students, family, faculty, staff, and friends.

The May 28 event honored the university’s 17th undergraduate class and the sixth class of the master’s program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change.

In a recorded video message, the Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. spoke with the eloquence that inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to describe him as the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.

“I am deeply impressed by the fact that Soka University seeks to help each of the students who comes here to become a global citizen, a human being who exploits human creativity and who then shapes their work around how they can help the creative human being to emerge through their work and play through their families and the various vocations that they adopt,” Lawson said.

Inside each student is a singular “life force” or “soul force” that calls them to discovery and implementation. “Exploit it, because in exploiting it, you tap the most creative force of the universe,” Lawson said, referring to a core teaching of Gandhi.

President Edward M. Feasel then expressed deep appreciation for everyone who supported the graduates’ journey, and scholarship donors including the Makiguchi Foundation and the Lei Loi Tak Memorial Scholarship Program. President Feasel noted the graduates were leaving SUA at a time of great uncertainty in the world.

“I am confident, however, at SUA, you have developed the robust skills to tackle any challenge and to create harmony with any challenger that tries to derail you. Your persistent humanistic efforts at dialogue will continue to be key toward achieving this end,” he said.

As “Pomp and Circumstance” played, each graduate was celebrated by name. Students had submitted quotes before the ceremony, and many alluded to a rollercoaster yet hopeful senior year.

The students’ life force shone in brief video messages. Many recorded themselves in cap and gown. Rodas Dubie Bekele was among those who walked as if on a commencement stage and not thousands of miles from campus. Others, like Kelsey Castanho moved their tassels; Tanner Montagriff-Peck tossed his mortarboard in the air.

Student speaker Patricia Yukari Hirano congratulated her classmates who earned master’s degrees in Educational Leadership and Societal Change. “The challenging time meant feeling the fear and doing it anyway,” she added, ticking off what habits they had to master when in-person classes were suspended.

Muskan Agrawal and Abigail Meyer spoke on behalf of the bachelor of liberal arts graduates. “My four years at Soka have taught me that we are all stronger than we know,” Agrawal said.

Meyer noted that the Class of 2021 was known for close bonds and shenanigans. “The community at Soka has not only brought me out of my shell, but it has the courage to say when something isn’t right, when I’m not right, and to encourage one another, during some of the most challenging times of our lives. It has shown me what the true meaning of support is.”

Dean of Students Hyon J. Moon read the Founder’s Commencement Message to the Class of 2021 in which he conveyed: “..all of you who are jewels of prodigal light, my warmest congratulations on this day! You have prevailed over challenge after challenge to celebrate your graduation with songs of triumph.”

The 2021 commencement made clear SUA is achieving its mission of fostering a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life.

“…the most creative force of the universe.” sua founders

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In May, these SUA Graduate School students received their MA in Educational Leadership and Societal Change.

Takahiro Asano Gunma, Japan I am planning to go to Taiwan to gain teaching experience.

By utilizing the valuecreating pedagogy, I will try my best to uncover the highest potential of each student.

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Anabella Afra Boateng Kumasi, Ghana I am creating a leadership and identity curriculum that I wish to teach to high school students.

En Ling Chow Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia In my next journey, I hope to contribute professionally as a supporting member in an education related field. In my daily practice, I’d like to continue striving to embody and further develop the invaluable lessons and values I have learned from my time at SUA.

Laura Alison Cooper

Patricia Yukari Hirano

Bury, UK

São Paulo, Brazil

After graduation, one of my main goals is to put my thesis research into practice and support the well-being of teachers. I see this as a crucial element in my mission to transform the education system of Great Britain.

My goal is to find a job in the U.S. as an educational leader who embodies wisdom, courage, and compassion in my daily efforts.

After I pursue a Ph.D., my ultimate goal is to build an NGO for youth leadership development and contribute to the development of Soka education in Brazil and across the globe.

Paula Pereira Rio de Janeiro, Brazil I am applying for my Optional Practical Training (OPT) year in the US, where, hopefully, I’ll be able to support young people with their education.

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J OH N S T A UFFER CHARITABLE TRUST CHALLENGE GRA NT

Soka University Awarded $1 Million Challenge Grant In April, the John Stauffer Charitable Trust awarded Soka University of America a $1 million challenge grant to establish an endowment to support student summer research in chemistry and biochemistry. The John Stauffer Endowment for Summer Research in Chemistry and Biochemistry is a one-to-one matching fund that will create a $2 million endowment by December 2026, which will enable SUA to offer a summer research program in chemistry and biochemistry.

The fund will be used to award research fellowships for current and future chemistry and biochemistry students, benefiting a diverse population of students early in their academic careers, helping to shape career choices and retention in STEM fields.

The award comes during the first year of SUA’s new interdisciplinary Life Sciences Concentration and the opening of SUA’s new 91,000 square foot science building, Marie and Pierre Curie Hall.

“SUA is committed to a viable undergraduate research program that will have a lasting impact on the future of each participating SUA student,” the Stauffer award letter stated.

When fully funded, this endowment will enable SUA to support a cohort of 10 to 12 Stauffer Fellows, students who will conduct advanced research with SUA faculty during the summer.

Donations may be made at give.soka.edu.

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SO K A G L O B A L C IT IZ E N A WA R D

“W

ithout peace,

development is impossible,

and without development, peace is not achievable, but without women, neither peace nor development is possible.”

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Soka Global Citizen Award Ambassador Chowdhury has been a strong and widely respected advocate for the equality of women and women’s rights throughout his career. During his tenure as president of the UN Security Council, Ambassador Chowdhury led the initiative in March 2000 that brought about the political and conceptual SUA President Ed Feasel noted that Ambassador Chowdhury has breakthrough leading to the adoption of the groundbreaking UN served as the under-secretary-general and high representative Security Council Resolution 1325 in which the council recognized for least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, for the first time the role and contribution of women in the area and small island developing states, president of the UN Security of peace and security as well as the equality of their participation Council, president of UNICEF, permanent representative to the UN and senior special advisor to the UN General Assembly at all decision-making levels. president.

“Without peace, development is impossible, and without Ambassador Chowdhury’s life work has especially contributed to development, peace is not achievable,” Chowdhury said, “but the practice of the culture of peace and nonviolence. Soon after without women, neither peace nor development is possible. assuming his position as Bangladesh ambassador to the UN, he initiated a proposal in a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Ambassador Chowdhury accepted his award during a special that the United Nations General Assembly develop a specific virtual celebration of Soka University’s 20th anniversary on May 2. agenda on the culture of peace. He chaired the negotiations “I am proud to hold up Ambassador Chowdhury as a role model among the member states of UN that culminated in the adoption for our students,” Dr. Feasel said. “He is truly an inspiration for of the 1999 Landmark Declaration and Programme of Action us all. As Soka University celebrates its 20th anniversary, we are on a Culture of Peace. He also initiated the proclamation of the “International Decade for Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for honored that our new Soka Global Citizen Award is shining a the Children of the World (2001-2010).” Both were adopted by spotlight on an individual who is using their wisdom, courage, the UN General Assembly. and compassion to lift up others and improve our world.”

Soka University of America is proud to announce Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury as the recipient of the inaugural Soka Global Citizen Award, for his life’s work and achievements for peace, women’s rights and equality, and for the cause of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged nations.

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2 0 TH A N N I VE RS A R Y C E LE B R A T ION

On May 2, 2021

3,000 viewers tuned into Soka University of America’s YouTube channel to share in 1½ hours of virtual celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the dedication of the Aliso Viejo campus. The event started with a preshow giving a student-led tour of campus, followed by a live greeting from alumni MCs Corina Giselle, Class of 2015, and Zane Romano, Class of 2009. An introduction video shared the history of SUA’s founding and was followed by a blessing song from the Acjachemen tribe. Tribal members originally blessed the campus in 2001 as SUA acknowledged their history on the land.

SUA President Edward Feasel shared that both the City of Aliso Viejo and the County of Orange had declared May 3, 2021 to be “Soka University of America Day” in honor of the university’s 20th Anniversary in Aliso Viejo.

Other resolutions and proclamations were received from the California State Assembly, California Senate and U.S. Congress. Donors around the world were acknowledged for their many years of support that have made so many achievements at Soka University possible. Dr. Feasel also announced that SUA has received a $1 million matching grant from the John Stauffer Charitable Trust to provide summer research fellowships to SUA students in chemistry and biochemistry. Soka University’s goal is to raise the $1 million match over the next years fellowships beginning in summer 2022. He also shared a new fund-raising campaign for diversity scholarships at SUA. Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Dunham announced in honor of the 20th Anniversary, the Board is honoring the founder of Soka University

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of America, Daisaku Ikeda, in two ways – with the creation of a new Daisaku Ikeda Endowed Chair to support faculty excellence, and the naming of SUA’s undergraduate liberal arts program as the Daisaku Ikeda College.

that students have compiled a new book entitled Dear Global Citizens which will include all of Mr. Ikeda’s messages to SUA students and ten of his university lectures. Dear Global Citizens will be published this summer.

One highlight of the evening came when current SUA students from Honduras, Nepal and Zambia shared their experiences – and student members of the orchestra and jazz ensemble clubs performed the student song, “On The Path of Peace” (virtually from their own homes).

If you missed the original broadcast, you can still see an edited version at www.youtube.com/SokaUnivAmerica. You may also view the 20th Anniversary mosaic of campus memories at: Reflect and Recommit Soka University of America, www.soka.edu/20th-anniversary#mosaic.

Dr. Feasel awarded the university’s inaugural “Soka Global Citizen Award” to Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury in recognition of his life’s work and achievements for peace and women’s rights. Ambassador Chowdhury accepted the honor and shared his late wife Mariam’s contributions to all of his efforts and her love of SUA. He proposed using his $25,000 award to continue her legacy at SUA.

Soka University thanks everyone who supported us during our first 20 years in Aliso Viejo…and we look forward to growing with you over the next 20!

Soka University’s strong academics and new Life Sciences Concentration were spotlighted – with a special tour by faculty of the new labs in the 91,000 square foot Marie and Pierre Curie Hall.

A very personal alumni experience from Jennifer Ohrstrom, Class of 2008, evoked the spirit of Soka Education, and Soka Student Union president Shunji Fueki was proud to announce

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AL UM N I H I G HLIGH T

Miho Saito, Class of 2014

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fter graduating with the class of 2014, I moved to Japan for a year to train in starting a restaurant-bakery concept and then re-located to Hawaii to start one of the concepts in 2015. When I returned to California 2 years later, I took a career break to travel around the west coast out of a converted 4-Runner. Currently living in Long Beach, CA, I am pursuing two concurrent career paths as a professional actor and a senior recruiter for an agency specializing in hiring within the medical, biotech, life sciences, biopharma, and engineering industries. My present project is to source scientists who specialize in research for rare, age-related diseases as well as recruit candidates for positions to work on manufacturing vaccines for COVID-19. As an actor, I have booked projects for companies such as LYFT, Google, Facebook, and most recently, a commercial to launch Microsoft’s latest mixed-reality technology.

I fell in love with acting when I was encouraged to take classes to develop my craft and found that it was a great way to express my creativity. My concentration while I was a student at SUA was in Humanities with a focus in literature, so the art of storytelling is very familiar to me. My favorite courses at SUA were Haruki Murakami with John Kehlen, American Experience with Aneil Rallin, Physics with Phat Vu, and Forms of Comedy with Oleg Gelikman. These classes, albeit difficult, stretched my ability to critically think and also challenged my analyzing skills to dissect the written word to better understand the intent of the writer. It’s amazing that I am able to come full circle with my education, except I am now the storyteller.

I am eternally grateful for the experience I had at SUA because the values of Soka pedagogy pulse in my heart to this day. I genuinely enjoyed the discussions in class and how, through the readings and dialogues, I questioned what it truly means to be human – I feel this is a question I continue to ask myself. However, I believe the unique moments one experiences at SUA, whether it was an upperclassman leaving a sincere note by my door, having a candid heart-to-heart with a professor, or developing life long friendships, that are perhaps the answer. In a similar fashion of how we close every acting class with a “shout out” and a “take away,” I would like to shout out, with my deepest appreciation, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda for founding my beloved alma mater, and the donors for giving us students an opportunity to receive a world class education. My takeaway from my education at SUA is to strive to embrace, respect, and treasure all life.

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SOHOKAI FUNDRAISING CAM P A IGN

During the Sohokai 2020 annual meeting, Soka’s undergraduate alumni association committed to raise $500,000 by May 2021 in celebration of the first two decades of SUA as Young Founders and demonstrate commitment to fostering an enduring connection to SUA and its mission. The proceeds will sponsor important anniversary projects including campus enhancements symbolizing recommitment to the Founding Principles and fund programming hosted by the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Human Rights.

As of June 16, 2021, the group has gifted more than $660,000 to their alma mater. A special thank you to the Fundraising Committee and to all alumni who participated.

It is not too late to join your classmates. The Sohokai fundraising campaign will continue through December 31, 2021.

Make a gift today at give.soka.edu.

Above: Founders Hall Welcome Center and Founders Meeting Room

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F AC U L T Y H I G H L IGH T

FACULTY 1. PLEASE PROVIDE A BRIEF BACKGROUND ABOUT YOURSELF.

I was raised in Austin, Texas by my father and stepmother, both of whom were graduate students at the University of Texas at Austin. My father, a seventh generation Texan, studied philosophy and journalism and my stepmother, who is from Argentina, received a Ph.D. in Spanish Literature.

Growing up I was surrounded by graduate students, primarily from Latin America, speaking Spanish, listening to Bossa Nova, and watching movies from Brazil and Argentina, all of which generated my interest in academia and Latin American history and culture. This interest was further cemented by frequent trips to Mexico to visit friends of my father and ethnographic field studies in Central America that I was able to do as an undergraduate. Early on I decided that I wanted to study anthropology, do research in Latin America, and become a professor. I have since conducted research in Honduras, Guatemala, Trinidad, and the US on issues related to gender, race, and immigration. These studies and experiences have greatly expanded my vision of the world and the people in it, and contributed to my philosophy of decentering the “west” in all narratives and expectations about the best path forward for humanity.

2. FROM WHICH INSTITUTIONS DO YOU HOLD DEGREES?

I have a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California at Davis.

3. WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO SUA?

I was attracted by the mission as it relates to promoting an awareness of global issues and social justice. Though most universities state this as part of their mission, I feel that at Soka this is truly the overriding goal of the university through both the curriculum and the international diversity of the faculty and student body. When I was hired Soka had just opened and there were only first and second year students, so it was also refreshing to see the incredible enthusiasm of the faculty, staff, and students about this new institution and it was exciting to be a part of building something new.

4. WHAT DISTINGUISHES SOKA STUDENTS IN YOUR OPINION?

I have always been very impressed by students’ dedication to learning, not just for their own career goals and upward mobility, but to use their knowledge and skills to work for larger goals of social justice. Like any students socialized in the system we are in, they worry about grades, but they also seem genuinely concerned about local and global systems of inequality and are willing to engage with theory and ideas that challenge them to think about and critique those systems of inequality, including their own role and privileges within them. Thus, the work they do in class is not simply motivated by getting an A, but also in engaging in the difficult work of critical thinking and selfreflection.

5. WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

I am inspired by people who do not accept the status quo, who are always critically analyzing social processes and standing against systems of inequality.

6. DO YOU HAVE OTHER REFLECTIONS ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A FACULTY MEMBER AT SUA?

For me one of the most rewarding aspects of being a faculty member at SUA is that so many colearning opportunities are built into the curriculum. Though all SUA classes give me the opportunity to expand my understanding of social issues through students sharing our experiences and ideas with each other, Learning Clusters and supervising capstones stand out as two examples of teaching activities in which student research, analysis, inquiry, and lived experiences have educated me in ways that have gone beyond the often parochial view of academic disciplines.

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Sarah England, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Anthropology

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F AC U L T Y A N D S T A F F WOR K R E MOTELY

Employees keep Soka’s spirit alive from their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“As we faced a global pandemic impacting the way we functioned as a community, I was deeply moved by the staff and faculty who continued to provide support and services remotely for our students.”

- president feasel

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CREATIVE ARTS PROGRA M

Contributed by Michael Golden, Director of the Creative Arts Program

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n the twenty years since its inception, the Creative our offerings beginning in the Fall semester this year.

Arts Program (CARTS) at SUA has established a In 2020, while the development of the Center was strong foundation built on creative work in traditional artistic media (painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, somewhat delayed by the ongoing pandemic, we analog photography, music and dance). The link were able to identify and get final approval to use between the program’s goals and the mission of two former science labs located near our current arts SUA is twofold: through the hands-on making of facilities which were suitable for conversion to digital art, students experience a personal connection to a arts facilities. timeless and universal human activity, and through The first project to be implemented was the 3D fostering and gaining confidence in the potential for printing studio. Through the dedicated efforts of Don creativity within each of us, students can become Ryan, our ceramics instructor, our students, although better prepared to seek and create solutions to the still physically scattered around the globe, were able challenges facing humanity. to begin “printing” clay objects, including the ones While we have seen our graduates pursue advanced shown. study and/or successful careers in the arts based on this foundation, we recognize that fluency in digital In the coming academic year, while continuing to arts media will be increasingly important in the future. offer courses in traditional photography, ceramics, Thus, we were thrilled to have received, in October and music composition, we will be able to add new 2019, a generous grant from the Sahm Family “digital versions” – courses in digital photography Foundation to develop SUA’s first Digital Arts Center and design and computer music.

(DAC). With the support of the Development Office, the Office of Sponsored Research, and the teams With the continuing support of the university and in Facilities Services and Information Technology, our generous donors, we hope to be able to continue among many others in the university administration, to expand the Center to include a production studio we are happy to report that we have begun making where we can offer our students courses in video use of the DAC in online instruction during the production and editing, film scoring and animation, current Spring 2021 semester, and will be expanding for example.

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L EAR N I N G CL US T E R 2 0 2 1

Contributed by Nagisa Smalheiser ‘21 Would you like to take close-up pictures of distant galaxies? Do you wonder how US colleges plan to reopen after the pandemic?

Ever contemplate Bigfoot’s relationship to the Kraken? Can you imagine a world without the threat of nuclear catastrophe?

Those are some of the 27 topics students explored this year through Soka University of America’s Learning Cluster program.

One of SUA’s singular features, a Learning Cluster is an intensive three-and-half-week session conducted during winter block. The courses are co-designed by students and faculty and allow a deeper examination of subjects of all kinds.

Learning Cluster is a mandatory course for first- and second-year students and an optional one for third-year students. Enrollment this year hit an all-time high, as most of the study-abroad programs that third-year students typically participate in were cancelled because of the pandemic.

In the past, some Learning Cluster courses have included opportunities to travel around the country and world to conduct research. But as SUA headed into its third semester of mostly online instruction, the experience had to be reinvented. Professors found creative ways to keep their students engaged, including watching films and videos together or inviting guest speakers to offer their perspectives. One professor asked a student who’s studying Japanese American identity to lead a discussion about language and identity. Another introduced students to gather.town, an online platform where they created avatars and interacted virtually.

Upper left to bottom right: Drawing: Pattern, Texture, and Camouflage in Nature; Astronomy with the SUA Nieves Observatory; Why Do We Hate: the Holocaust; Drawing: Pattern, Texture, and Camouflage in Nature.

Soka thanks the Luis and Linda Nieves Family Foundation for their generous support.

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From the perspective of global citizenship, students share their research and experiences working on issues with a larger social significance.

Why Do We Hate: The Holocaust Robert Allinson, Professor of Philosophy The Politics of Disneyland Peter Burns, Professor of Political Science Disasters and Emergency Management George Busenberg, Associate Professor of Environmental Management and Policy Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good Ryan Caldwell, Associate Professor of Sociology Data Processing, Analysis, and Visualization Monika Calef, Associate Professor of Physical Geography Multilingualism and Identity Pablo Camus-Oyarzun, Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Culture Hybridity in Creative Writing Darin Ciccotelli, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition How the Industrial Diet Causes Metabolic Disease Lisa Crummett, Associate Professor of Biology COVID-19 and Global Inequalities Danielle Denardo, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Gender-Based Violence in Armed Conflict Sarah England, Associate Professor of Anthropology

Patterns in Nature: An Evolutionary Perspective Marie Nydam, Assistant Professor of Biology

The COVID-19 Pandemic: How are universities reopening their campuses to students?

Robert Hamersley, Associate Professor of Microbiology

Nuclear Weapons Politics and Terrorism Tetsushi Ogata, Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies

Being Human in STEM: Addressing Equity in STEM Nidanie Henderson-Stull, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Abandoned People in East Asia and Democracy Dongyoun Hwang, Professor of Asian Studies Languages of the World Osamu Ishiyama, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture

Astronomy with the SUA Nieves Observatory Bryan Penprase, Professor of Science Drawing: Pattern, Texture, and Camouflage in Nature Anne Pearce, Associate Professor of Studio Art Folk and Fairy Tales in a Global Context Katherine Perry, Assistant Professor of Mathematics

Leadership & Followership: A Group Dynamics Lens Jennifer Lee, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology

Green Screenings: Ecocinema as an Evolving Field of Environmental Activism Deike Peters, Associate Professor of Environmental Planning and Practice

SARS-CoV-2: From Molecular to Global Robert Levenson, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Yoga for Individual Psychological Transformation Nalini Rao, Associate Professor of World Art

A Survey of Policy Responses to the Pandemic Junyi Liu, Assistant Professor of Economics

Film Theory and Criticism Sandrine Siméon, Assistant Professor of French Language and Culture

Cryptozoology Anthony Mazeroll, Professor of Biology

Creating Inclusivity in STEM Susan Walsh, Associate Professor of Molecular/Cell Biology List provided by the Office of Academic Affairs

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BR I D G E S T O BU S IN E S S IMP A C T ATHON

B2B Impactathon: Incubating Ideas to Change the World Excerpted from an article by Nagisa Smalheiser ‘21 Cotton farming releases 220 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Manufacturing cotton fabrics uses 132 million metric tons of coal and nearly nine trillion liters of water. With climate change contributing to natural disasters, better options are urgently needed.

A four-student team* from Soka University has a solution: replace cotton fiber with the stems of banana plants. Their idea, The Tooke Project, named for the Luganda word for banana, won top prize at this year’s Bridges to Business Impactathon, an entrepreneurial workshop and business pitch competition.

Banana plants require less water, are grown without chemical fertilizers, and emit far less carbon dioxide. The group’s proposed project will employ widowed Ugandan women to create sustainable fabric. Uganda is the secondbiggest producer of banana fiber, after India. While some companies already make banana fiber textiles, The Tooke Project’s proposal would lower production costs.

The fourth annual Impactathon was held online January 8th-10th, allowing participants and judges from around the world to connect. Hosted by Soka’s Bridges to Business program, Impactathon brought together nine teams, each including at least one SUA student or alumnus, to develop their ideas and business models.

their own projects. At the end of the weekend, participants pitched ideas to potential investors, advisors, and mentors who gave feedback and awarded cash prizes.

Five judges with decades of shared experience in the entrepreneurial and private sectors evaluated the ideas based on problem identification, potential for social impact, and inclusivity. The Tooke Project hit all those marks, and the team members each brought a different perspective. Eduafo is passionate about alleviating environmental pollution and volunteers for LDG Ghana, a non-profit in his home country that seeks to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Growing up in Uganda, Mudanye has seen how women, particularly widows, are poorly treated, with little access to economic stability and financial literacy. Ghana native Ibrahim has also witnessed how widows are dehumanized after their husbands die and is motivated to fight this cruel inequity. Fiagbe, also from Ghana, loves fashion but wants to address that industry’s status as the second-largest global polluter. “Our team came up with a business plan that would make fast fashion sustainable,” Fiagbe said. “The Impactathon made me ask: How will I create actionable change doing something I love?”

The team won a $1,000 prize and, along with four of the other Impactathon teams, continued to develop their ideas through Soka B2B’s partnership with UC Irvine’s New Led by Neetal Parekh, founder and CEO of Innov8social, Venture competition, where teams can qualify to win up to the workshop pushed participants to map social problems, $20,000 of funding. See facing article for results. brainstorm impact-driven solutions, and design business plans. Participants also attended “impact talks” by successful social entrepreneurs in the areas of diversity, equity, and *Anthea Mudanye ’23, Anthony Eduafo ’23, inclusion (DEI) and public health in addition to working on Emmanuel Fiagbe ’24, and Hamza Ibrahim ’23

“Witnessing the personal and professional growth of these Soka students as they embraced 20

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BRIDGES TO BUSINESS AND UCI PART NE RSH IP

Contributed by Nagisa Smalheiser ‘21 Soka students’ innovative thinking and commitment to social responsibility made them winners at University of California Irvine’s Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship $100,000 startup competition.

SUA students participated on teams that swept the top three places in the semifinals of the Social Enterprise category. Two teams advanced to the finals and finished first and second.

Anjan Rana Magar ’23 was a member of the winning project, Circular, which received a $7,500 award for its idea to disrupt the cycle of food waste and hunger.

Magar, who is concentrating on Environmental Studies, helped develop a service that picks up food waste from restaurants, composts the waste with earthworms, and uses to it fertilize a vertical farm growing organic produce, which is then distributed back to its partner restaurants.

Second-place Tooke Fabrics, which proposes creating sustainable fabric from raw materials used in banana production in Uganda, is the concept of Anthea Mudanye ’23, Anthony Eduafo ’23, Hamza Ibrahim ’23, and Emmanuel Fiagbe ’24.

They received $2,500 from the UCI competition and previously won $1,000 in Soka’s Impactathon in January.

Marlen Riviere’s Bconomy finished third in the semifinals. Riviere, who concentrated on International Studies and graduated this year, is creating an online app and website to connect Blackowned businesses and socially conscious consumers.

“Witnessing the personal and professional growth of these Soka students as they embraced the demands of the competition workshops was beyond inspiring,” said Mary Patrick Kavanaugh, director of Soka’s Bridges to Business program, which helps students and alumni connect their liberal arts education into the world of social impact, entrepreneurship, and business.

the demands of the competition workshops was beyond inspiring” – mary patrick kavanaugh sua founders

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W O RL D SU M M IT OF E D UC A T OR S

Soka University of America hosted the second World Summit of Educators virtually June 13-14, 2021. The summit was held in three sessions and included international participants. Educators from around the world discussed global citizenship and how education can build a stronger world community. The conference featured speakers and panelists who discussed vital issues of equality, sustainability, and peace in 2021.

Some of our speakers included (clockwise from top left): Francisco Escobedo, Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Keynote Speaker Wanjira Mathai, Tracy Day, and Justine Cassell.

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Wanjira Mathai, vice president and regional director for Africa at WRI (World Resources Institute), presented the keynote address “Educating for Global Citizenship: Building a Sustainable World.”

Mathai is the current chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation and the former chair of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, the organization her mother, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, founded in 1977.

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ALTERNATIVE SPRING BRE A K

Contributed by Nagisa Smalheiser ‘21

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

in 2005, a group of Soka students decided they wanted to help. During their spring break they flew to New Orleans to join the disaster relief efforts. Their trip sparked a new SUA tradition: an Alternative Spring Break during which students spend their recess doing community service.

n ASB Social Justice Education Approach n Intersectionality and Positionality n Cycle of Socialization n Understanding Systems of Oppression n Exploring Power, Privilege, and Community Cultural Wealth

Over the years, Alternative Spring n Envisioning Strategies for Change as Break has developed into a co-curricular Global Citizens service-learning program that combines In addition to discussions, students dialogue-based learning with volunteer service. Participants explore social justice participated in activities such as a virtual concepts such as privilege, oppression, privilege walk, where participants played intersectionality, and equality while an online racing game with different engaging directly with the communities starting points to represent how some that are most impacted by them. people have an unfair advantage that helps them achieve their goals more quickly.

Because of the pandemic, 2021’s ASB was more informal than previous years. This “ASB helped me re-evaluate my experience year’s program – led by Ruby Nagashima, as a US citizen when compared to others, assistant director of student leadership which gave me a newfound sense of pride and service engagement – did not require an application to participate. The program in my identity,” said Will de Melo ’23. “In typically runs from September through the future I want to be more perceptive of April but this year, Student Affairs hosted a microaggressions that I or others might be six-week program in February and March. unwittingly saying.”

Each student was encouraged to find a volunteer opportunity to engage in virtually With opportunities to put social justice while attending weekly sessions focused on education into practice, Alternative Spring Break has become a program that promotes social justice topics.

Each weekly session focused on a new topic, lifelong, active global citizenship where acting as a space for students to engage participants are empowered to contribute toward building a more just and equitable in dialogue and learn from one another’s society. experiences. Topics included: sua founders

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CO V I D SU P E R P OD V A C C INA T ION SITE

There are many ways that Soka University is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Aliso Viejo campus in 2021 – but here’s a very special one illustrating service to our community.

On January 23, 2021, in cooperation with the County of Orange and the City of Aliso Viejo, Soka University opened as the second regional Super POD site (Point of Dispensing) to help vaccinate health care workers and seniors in south Orange County against COVID-19. (Disneyland was the first to open the week before.)

At its close in June, 296,594 people have been vaccinated on SUA’s campus. Vaccinations were open to everyone 16 and over who had an appointment obtained on Othena.com. Vaccinations took place inside Soka’s Recreation Center, which enabled the site to stay open even when high winds closed outside locations like Disneyland.

Soka University has trained as a POD site since 2007, so the campus was ready to respond quickly to the Orange County Health Department’s request for use of our site.

How well did it work? Here is an excerpt from an email to SUA: “Just had to tell you how impressed I was that Soka University hosted administering the vaccine at your campus. Even more impressed at how well it was organized and executed. The staff was extremely helpful, directions clearly marked, with plenty of friendly staff to answer and help along the way. I can’t remember a time that I saw so many people helping people and in such a good mood doing it.”

What a wonderful way to celebrate 20 years by giving back to our neighbors!

“I can’t remember a time that I saw so many people helping people and in such a good mood doing it.”

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www.soka.edu

ASTRONOM Y NIGHT A T SOKA

Soka Performing Arts Center expanded its live virtual programming with Astronomy Night at Soka: Exploration of the Moon and Mars on February 18, 2021. Astronomy professor and Vice President of External Academic Affairs and Sponsored Research Dr. Bryan Penprase utilized the telescope from the Nieves Observatory, located on campus, to view Mars, the moon, and other celestial objects. Additionally, Dr. Penprase led a discussion and answered questions about the February 18 landing on Mars of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory spacecraft lander known as Perseverance, including the main science goals of the mission, its technology as well as other exciting new missions making

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their way to Mars and other parts of the solar system.

The Nieves Observatory, located on the western end of campus between the residence halls and the Athenaeum, was made possible by the generosity of the Luis & Linda Nieves Family Foundation. The Observatory is set up with the mission to expand SUA’s mission for global citizenship into an interplanetary dimension.

SUA hopes to also work with communities of students and researchers around the world, and to enable students in the United States, Japan, India, Taiwan, Singapore and other countries to work together to increase our understanding of the physical universe.

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G I VIN G

Taking stock of your savings

There are so many ways to support the globallyminded students of Soka University, which is why we’re excited to share the smartest way you can give back, and potentially save on your taxes in the coming year.

more about the benefits of stock giving, guides you through the simple process, and even provides you with instructions on where to send the forms. You can make your stock gift today at FreeWill.com/ stocks/Soka/Welcome!

Many Soka University of America alumni and supporters are surprised to learn that by donating stocks to Soka, they can make a powerful impact while gaining some financial benefits.

Unsure if giving stock is the right gift for you?

Why is stock giving so beneficial for you? When you cash out your stocks before donating, you have to pay capital gains tax. However, transferring directly to Soka University allows you to give the full amount of that stock, making the donation much larger. The full amount of the stock is also eligible to be a deduction on your tax return.

Essentially, gifts of stock are even more impactful than cash gifts, and allow you to avoid paying capital gains tax!

Stock giving can seem confusing and complicated, which is why we want to share a free resource from FreeWill to make it simpler. It teaches you

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FreeWill also allows you to consider two other options for supporting Soka University of America in a way that makes sense for you.

70.5 or older? You can make a tax-free gift directly from your IRA to Soka using FreeWill’s tool. If you are eligible, it’s the smartest way to give back. Start your gift at FreeWill.com/QCD/Soka.

Begin your lasting legacy by including a gift in your will or trust. Using FreeWill’s online will-writing platform, you can create your plans in under 20 minutes and change the lives of generations of students, without spending anything today. Visit FreeWill.com/Soka to start your legacy now.

Further questions? Please contact Linda Kennedy at 949-480-4072 for more information.

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20TH ANNIVERSARY CAM P A IGN

THERE IS STILL TIME TO MAKE HISTORY.

On May 3, 2021, we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo. There is still time to join us in the celebration by participating in our campaign to fund the future. With a gift of $2,000, you will be recognized with your name on a donor wall inside the new Marie and Pierre Curie Hall. Your gift will enable us to continue fulfilling our mission to foster a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life.

Go online to: give.soka.edu or contact Linda Kennedy, Director of Philanthropy (949) 480-4072 or lkennedy@soka.edu to be a part of the celebration.

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THE C E N T E R FOR R A C E , E T H N IC ITY, AND HUM AN RIGHTS

REHR Spring 2021 Virtual Events

Contributed by Kevin Moncrief, Ph.D., Vice President for Mission Integration/Co-Director of the REHR Center The Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Human Rights (REHR Center) mission is to provide space and resources for students and faculty of Soka University of America to engage in inquiry, research, and constructive dialogue related to race, ethnicity, human rights, and their intersections. President Ed Feasel formed the Center in July of 2020 in an effort to further implement the university’s mission and the commitment of its founder, Daisaku Ikeda, to global citizenship, respect for human diversity, equality, and human rights. In so doing, SUA also acknowledges the efforts of its student affinity groups in promoting a greater degree of diversity and inclusion in university life.

The executive sponsor for the REHR Center is Vice President of Academic Affairs and Interim Dean of Faculty Michael Weiner. The membership of the REHR Center includes Kevin Moncrief, Ph.D., Vice President for Mission Integration/CoDirector of the REHR Center, Ian Olivo Read, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Latin American Studies, Director of International Studies/Co-Director of the REHR Center, Distinguished 28

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Faculty Fellow REHR Center, Hortense J. Spillers, Ph.D., REHR Center Faculty Fellows Nidanie Henderson-Stull, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry Lisa MacLeod, Ph.D., Associate Professor of International Studies, REHR Center Student Fellows Shunji Fueki, Class of 2021, Vibhu Walia, Class of 2022.

The REHR Center holds that racial and ethnic discrimination commonly lies in legal, economic, and social institutions in countries across the world of the 21st century. In many instances, discrimination is a consequence of a history of slavery, colonialism, or ethnocentrism. In others, the origins of present-day discrimination predate the colonial experience or are the product of religious belief systems. Whatever the context, institutionalized racism and personal prejudice remain significant obstacles to the full realization of the inherent dignity of all human beings, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent UN Conventions.

The REHR Center Directors and Fellows have held 30 meetings to date, established mission and priorities, announced through the new Center website. sua founders

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The Center has published a hiring announcement for the Black Studies Presidential Hire, worked on global ethnic studies curriculum planning contours, and reached more than one thousand audience members in more than 30 countries through six academic events. Events have featured prominent voices, including Ambassador Andrew Young, jazz musician Delfeayo Marsalis, and professors Reuben Jonathan Miller and Hortense J. Spillers.

Looking ahead, the Center plans to attract new Student and Faculty Fellows, advocate for additional ethnic studies curriculum at SUA, and expand its world-class academic programming series.

…institutionalized racism and personal prejudice remain significant obstacles to the full realization of the inherent dignity of all human beings…

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THA N K Y O U T O O U R D ONOR S

The donors to Soka University of America are the driving force behind our ability to provide a world class education to young people from around the world who are committed to living a contributive life and we are very grateful for your kindness.

To honor our benefactors, we install the name of their choosing when their cumulative giving reaches specific levels. The Gold Benefactor level of giving, which is between $20,000 and $99,999, has historically been recognized on the third floor of Founders Hall. We are happy to announce that the wall is filled to capacity and we have begun honoring Gold Benefactors on a new wall on the first floor of our newest building, Marie and Pierre Curie Hall.

If you make a gift to Soka by transferring appreciated stock, directing money from your retirement plan or an employer matching gift, please let us know by sending an email to lkennedy@soka.edu or calling 949-480-4072. Occasionally the custodian sending the donation does not identify the generous person behind the gift. Every donation is not only appreciated but also important, and we want to make sure we know who made the gift so they can be properly thanked and the gift accurately recorded.

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www.soka.edu

CELEBRATING A VISION O F P E A CE

OCTOBER 9, 2021 sua founders

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Soka University of America Publisher Soka University of America President Edward Feasel, PhD Executive Editor Linda Kennedy

Editor Dana Collins Graphic Design Cathy Cervantes Photography Courtesy of SUA Photography Office and Mark Howlett Photography

1 University Drive Aliso Viejo, California 92656 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Have You Moved Recently?

We would like to keep you informed of the wonderful news from Soka, so if you have a new address, please let us know by going to our website

www.soka.edu/address-update or send an email to Coleen Scherf-Ghara at cscherfghara@soka.edu or contact her directly at (949) 480-4073. If you know someone who has mentioned they no longer hear from Soka, please make sure they contact us so we can update their information.

Soka.University.of.America CelebratingAVisionofPeace suayoungfounders (UG Alumni) @sokauniv @suasohokai

Thank you for supporting Soka University of America!

WSCUC Accreditation Reaffirmed WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) acted to reaffirm the accreditation of Soka University of America for a period of ten years, the maximum allowable interval. Special thanks to Dr. Tomoko Takahashi, Vice President for Institutional Research and Assessment, Dean of the Graduate School, and Professor of Linguistics and Education for successfully leading the Soka team through the accreditation process.

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