An Inauguration Day with Nothing Happening | Motohiro Tsuchiya, Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management
2019.10.07
This "Okashira Nikki" (The Dean's Diary) began on April 1, 2004 . That was the day I was appointed as a faculty member at SFC.
I went through the Hiyoshi and Mita Campuses before advancing to the Ph.D. program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at SFC. After being awarded my doctorate, I spent five years at a research institute of another university. I enjoyed research but had no intention of becoming a faculty member. However, by a strange turn of events, I returned as a fixed-term faculty member on April 1, 2004. The Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management at that time was Professor Tomoyuki Kojima. He was the author of the first "Okashira Nikki." I didn't know until last week that Fumitoshi Kato had gone through a terrible ordeal on that day.
Professor Naoyuki Agawa, who became Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management after Professor Kojima, wrote in his "Okashira Nikki," "It was the last day of a one-week university-wide class cancellation due to a measles outbreak, and there were no students at SFC. There was nothing to suggest the inauguration of a new dean." As I write this on October 1, 2019, which is my first day as dean, there is again nothing to suggest the inauguration of a new dean. There are students on campus. However, there is no official letter of appointment, nor is there an inauguration ceremony. I have received no emails or phone calls regarding this matter. Since no one has told me to come to the dean's office, I am writing this manuscript in the same office I have been using for the past 15 years. It is almost noon, but the campus is quiet as classes are in session. I can hear the chirping of autumn insects through the window.
Nevertheless, prior to my inauguration, I had the opportunity to give a speech at the joint faculty meeting of the Faculty of Policy Management, the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, and the Graduate School of Media and Governance on September 25. I spoke roughly as follows. I would like to post it here as a record.
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First, I would like to express my gratitude to the outgoing Dean of the Faculty of Policy Management, Ken Kawazoe; Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Yoko Hamada; and Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Jun Murai. Thank you very much. Professor Hamada will continue to serve as a member of the joint steering committee, and I hope to continue receiving advice from Professor Kawazoe and Professor Murai as well. Thank you.
Nearly three months have passed since the dean's election. It feels like a long time has gone by.
The biggest change for me is that, because my face has become more recognizable, faculty members from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies with whom I had little contact before have suddenly started greeting me. To be honest, there are still times when I wonder who someone is. I haven't been able to memorize all the faculty members of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies yet. In any case, I am coming to understand that many new people have joined in the last few years.
I have heard that this is the first time in the history of Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) that all three top positions have changed at once. It has been three months of three inexperienced people preparing by feeling our way. There were many things that made me wonder, "Why is it like this?" and it took time just to understand them. And there were quite a few things that the three of us could not easily agree on. SFC's greatest strength and also its weakness is this troika system. While a dictatorship is impossible, nothing moves forward if the three cannot agree.
Unfortunately, I cannot say that the three of us are on close terms at the moment. I can hardly say that we understand what the others are thinking without saying a word. I don't think that would be a good thing either, as we each have different responsibilities and perspectives. I hope that the results of our discussions as a trio will be better than if one person decided alone.
To everyone in the Faculty of Policy Management, thank you again for choosing me. I understand that even those who did not vote for me have ultimately accepted the result. Therefore, I will strive to pursue everyone's interests as much as possible.
It is often said, "At SFC, you can do anything. Just do what you love." I want to do something about this. Hearing that, you might think SFC is a great place, and we have used that as our selling point. But is that really for the best?
This is something a student taught me, but it's fine for there to be four types of people at SFC. That is: Faculty of Policy Management's Department of Policy Management, Faculty of Policy Management's Department of Environment and Information Studies, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies' Department of Policy Management, and Faculty of Environment and Information Studies' Department of Environment and Information Studies. Let's call Policy Management "P" and Environment and Information "E," and refer to these types as PP, PE, EP, and EE. Until now, by continuing to say that "you can do anything," we have favored the fusion-type students, the PE and EP types. However, I want to cherish the PP-type students. Conversely, I would like the new Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Akira Wakita, to cherish the EE-type students.
For nearly the past 30 years, we have been talking about "fusion." Being interdisciplinary has been our strength. However, to be interdisciplinary, it is also necessary for each to develop expertise in their respective fields.
I don't know if you have noticed, but the current Faculty of Policy Management is quite powerful. When I meet with research colleagues from other universities, they ask me, "When did Keio assemble such a lineup?" and "What are you trying to do?" I want to leverage this advantage to move forward.
I don't know how much I can accomplish, but I want to work to establish the brand that if you want to study policy or management—be it international, domestic, or local politics, corporate management, or non-profit management—then the Faculty of Policy Management at SFC is the place to be.
That said, I have also come to think that what can be accomplished in two years is limited. Although I had not yet taken office, over these three months, I have been paying attention to various matters with the help of the assistants and administrative staff. Even so, it is difficult to make any major changes.
In the end, the lesson of these three months is that it is important to pay attention to the accumulation of small decisions. One by one, the accumulation of small decisions will gradually change the future. I want to keep that in mind as I make various judgments.
Again, I cannot do this alone. First, with the three of us, and then with the help of all of you, I would like to move forward. Thank you for your support.