The First Step | Hitoshi Takano (SFC Administrative Director)

2012.01.13

This is my first appearance on "Okashira Nikki." My name is Hitoshi Takano, and I am the Administrative Director of Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC). I look forward to getting to know you all.

Since this is my first post, let me start by introducing my connection with SFC.

My "bond" with SFC began when I was appointed to be in charge of academic affairs at the Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office at the same time the campus opened in 1990. As I was in charge of Student Life, I spent five years deeply involved in the formation of SFC's student organizations. After that, I transferred to the General Affairs section, where I was responsible for tasks such as human resources, public relations, and general administration for about three years before moving to the Mita Campus.

During this time, I was exposed to E-Mail and HTML, which were not yet widespread, and I have fond memories of learning both from students at first. You could say I was practicing what Keio University calls "learning while teaching, teaching while learning."

After eleven and a half years at the Mita Campus, I returned to SFC in November 2009 as the manager of the General Affairs section, which was almost two years ago.

Here are my impressions of SFC upon returning after such a long time.

(1) Transportation had improved with the extension of the municipal subway and Sotetsu lines to Shonandai.

(2) The trees planted 20 years ago had grown magnificently.

(3) The curriculum had changed.

(4) The faculty members I knew from before had gotten older.

(5) Students I knew from my time in student support had become faculty members.

I felt a particular sense of emotion about (1) and (2). This is because these were the two points I often made in conversations with students who complained about the campus environment in the early days.

I used to say, "Let's try to imagine SFC in 10 or 20 years. The railway will be extended to Shonandai, making transportation more convenient, and the planted trees will have grown, making the campus environment much better than it is now." It was a statement I made partly to convince myself that some things take time to resolve.

In response, the students would reply, "But we only have four years. It'll be too late for us after we graduate."

At the time, I couldn't give them a sufficient answer, but returning to SFC after all these years, I was able to confirm that I hadn't been lying, and I felt a desire for the alumni to experience this as well.

Now, I hear that "Okashira Nikki" has a theme. This time, the theme was "Tell me about a recent dream," so while it's not exactly on topic, I'd like to end by writing about something related to "dreams."

Due to my work, I often have the opportunity to dine with alumni, and on one such occasion, I was asked about my dream for the future. Without hesitation, I answered, "To become the SFC Administrative Director." Fortunately, this dream came true last November.

Now that it has been realized, I find myself asking a question.

"Why did I dream of becoming the Administrative Director of SFC?"

Twenty years ago, the many people involved in the opening of SFC had a "dream" of what a university of the future should be, and they created SFC. At that time, standing on the grounds of SFC, many of our predecessors were looking toward the future. Back then, I could only see the future from the front lines of student support. I thought that from the position of Administrative Director, I might be able to see a more distant future. "I want to see the future horizon that the early Administrative Directors saw, from that same position." That was the origin of my "dream."

What I realize now is that you cannot see the future horizon simply by stretching to get a better view.

Before you stretch, it seems important to plant your feet firmly on the ground and solidify the very place from which you gaze at that horizon.

The first Administrative Director, wanting to close the distance with students, chose the email address "hi-jimmy." It seems he wanted to create an atmosphere where students felt comfortable approaching the administrative staff. If there is a distance between the administrative office, the staff who work there, and the students, then "learning while teaching, teaching while learning" cannot be realized. I believe this is something that was necessary 20 years ago and will still be necessary 20 years from now.

Striving to create an administrative office and staff that are close to the students, and putting a system in place to achieve that—this, I feel, is what it means to solidify the foundation for seeing the future.

Having the opportunity to write for "Okashira Nikki" is also a first step toward closing the distance with all of you, the students. And it is the "first step" toward the realization of my dream.

(Date Published: 2012/01/13)