SUA Honors Founder Daisaku Ikeda as Campus Celebrates 20th Anniversary in Aliso Viejo

The Soka University of America Board of Trustees has bestowed two major honors on SUA founder Daisaku Ikeda: the establishment of an endowed chair in his name and naming the undergraduate program Daisaku Ikeda College.

The Daisaku Ikeda Endowed Chair to support faculty excellence will be SUA’s first such chair. The endowed chair and the naming of undergraduate program Ikeda College were announced during SUA, AV’s virtual 20th anniversary celebration on May 2.

The new name for the undergraduate program will be similar to how Pepperdine University’s liberal arts program is called Seaver College. UC San Diego also has a variety of named undergraduate colleges, including Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, and Eleanor Roosevelt colleges.

“It is in that spirit that we honor Daisaku Ikeda, without whom SUA would not have been possible,” said SUA Board Chair Steve Dunham during the virtual celebration. “Please know that this honor is not a change of identity for the university. We will still be Soka University of America and SUA to ourselves and to the outside world, and Soka University of America will still be on our diplomas.

“Rather, the board sees these actions as a special and meaningful acknowledgement of Mr. Ikeda’s foundational leadership and fundamental role he has played in making SUA so successful. We are equally grateful to all of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors for their many contributions to our success.”