Southern Methodist University’s Dean of the Dedman College of Humanities and Science William “Bill” Tsutsui, Ph.D., has recently been selected to the 2011 Japanese American Leadership Institute (JALD).
JALD council members participate in many activities, including a symposium in Osaka, Japan this March. At the symposium, members will discuss educational exchange opportunities in the United States and Japan as well as ways to encourage more Japanese and American students to study abroad.
“I grew up in central Texas and spent much of my professional life in Kansas, both places where there are few Japanese Americans,” Tsutsui said. “I am really pleased to meet, travel with and learn from others who share my ethnic heritage.”
JALD is a non-profit educational organization charged with strengthening U.S. and Japan relations. The council is comprised of Japanese-American professionals from various industries, including academics, lawyers, business and community leaders.
According to its website, JALD’s mission is to “promote people-to-people connections” and to “inspire and engage Japanese Americans of all generations.”
Council members will enjoy many international networking opportunities to meet fellow Japanese-American professionals.
“I am very much looking forward to meeting with top-level policymakers in Japan to discuss important topics in U.S.-Japanese relations, including economic issues and regional security in Asia,” Tsutsui said.
Tsutsui is Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Science as well as a faculty member of history. Prior to coming to SMU, Tsutsui was the Associate Dean for International Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas. Tsutsui was also director of Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia in KU’s Center for East Asian Studies.
Tsutsui is an alum of Harvard University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies in 1985, graduating summa cum laude. He received a Master of Letters in Modern Japanese History from Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College in 1988. Tsutsui also received both his Masters of Arts and a Ph.D. in history at Princeton University in 1990 and 1995.
