Return for the Future Celebrating 30 Years of the Graduate School

Soka University Los Angeles, a branch campus of Soka University in Japan, opens in Calabasas with great hopes of developing into an independent university. Soka University founder Daisaku Ikeda participates in a campus tour and encourages those preparing for the opening ceremony. At the ceremony, he emphasizes the following three mottoes:

1. Be a treasure house of capable people who will shoulder the establishment of world peace.
2. Be a dynamic force in developing a pan-Pacific culture.
3. Be a center of intellect linking East and West.

The day after the opening ceremony, Ikeda begins a series of dialogues on campus, first with UCLA Professor Norman Cousins. He then engages in a dialogue with Dr. Linus Pauling, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1954) and the Nobel Peace Prize (1962). Later in the month Dr. Cousins and Ikeda meet for the second time, and their dialogues are compiled into the book Sekai Shimin no Taiwa [Dialogue between Citizens of the World].

Ikeda returns to the campus and attends a meeting with the university’s representatives. On Feb. 21, he and Dr. Pauling meet for the second time, and their dialogues are compiled into the book A Lifelong Quest for Peace.

The Pacific Basin Research Center (PBRC) is established to advance research on the peaceful development of the Asia-Pacific region. The first director of the PBRC, John D. Montgomery, a Harvard professor emeritus, gave a commemorative lecture.

After giving a lecture at Harvard on Sept. 26 titled “The Age of ‘Soft Power’ and Inner-Motivated Philosophy: Toward a New U.S.-Japan Relationship,” Ikeda returns to the SULA campus and participates in meetings with university representatives.

The community language program, directed by founding Dean Tomoko Takahashi, opens and offers its first class, Introduction to Japanese, to local students. Later in the year, the program adds language courses in Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian. Approximately 100 students are enrolled, bringing the university’s total student enrollment to about 200.

Friends of Soka University, formed four months earlier, begins hosting monthly information meetings to support the university. This group of local residents also offer a variety of activities for adults and children to participate on campus, including historical, nature, and fitness walks and bird watching.

The university begins the Human Rights Lecture Series. Doug Heir, an advocate for disability rights, is the first speaker. Over the course of its 10-year run, nearly 50 speaking engagements are hosted.

As a special feature of the lecture series, Rosa Parks leads a panel discussion, “Civil Rights for American Ethnic Minorities: An Historic and Future Perspective” with Irene Tovar, Ron Wakabayashi, Glenda Ahhaitty, and James M. Lawson, moderated by Tobie Marshas.

Ikeda welcomes Rosa Parks back to the campus and engages in a dialogue with her. She presents him with the “Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award.”

The university receives degree-granting approval from the state of California. Its name is changed to Soka University of America (SUA) to distinguish it as a freestanding independent institution separate from Soka University in Japan.

The university establishes the Botanical Research Center and Nursery along with the John and Juliana Ginsley Native Plant Demonstration Garden. Its mission is to propagate native plants for habitat restoration on campus, conduct scientific research, and provide resources for students and the public to learn about native plants. The center’s seed bank comprises more than 250 plant species. In August, 500 native plants are donated to the Pierce College nature center in Woodland Hills.

The Graduate School opens and enrolls its first cohort of students in an M.A. program in Second and Foreign Language Education with a concentration in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Ikeda states in his message, “This year marks the 50th anniversary of Makiguchi’s death in prison, and I am deeply moved to imagine the joy with which he would have greeted this brilliant flowering of value-creating education on a global scale.”

SUA announces its plans to purchase land for a second campus in Orange County. The news is welcomed by Orange County elected officials and residents.

From Ikeda’s congratulatory message: “I would like to share with you three invaluable directives for life left to us by Mr. Makiguchi, in the hope that you will embrace them in the depths of your being. 1) Never peddle your knowledge, nor force it meaninglessly on others. Rather, be truly sagacious leaders who proffer the ‘keys of wisdom’ which enable others to unlock the treasure houses of knowledge. 2) Be people of character, who partake of the joys and sufferings of your fellow citizens, and who can create the harmonious coexistence, the mutual prosperity of self and other, of the individual and the community. 3) Never be satisfied with passive goodness. Be a person of courage and mettle who clearly debates and distinguishes right and wrong, and who takes bold and committed action for good.”

Ikeda and his wife Kaneko visit the Calabasas campus, marking Ikeda’s 27th and last visit to the United States, encouraging students, faculty and staff, and attending meetings with SUA leadership to discuss the future of the Aliso Viejo and Calabasas campuses.

Ikeda holds a dialogue with the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Rabbi Marvin Hier, and gives a lecture at the center, “Makiguchi’s Lifelong Pursuit of Justice and Humane Values,” in which he states that “active tolerance is inseparable from the courage to resolutely oppose and resist all forms of violence and injustice that threaten human dignity. It is a way of life based on empathy, seeing the world through other people’s eyes, feeling their sufferings and joys as one’s own.”

Mr. and Mrs. Ikeda depart for Denver. Students, staff, and supporters gather by the Central Hall building to send them off. Ikeda shares his appreciation for the language instructors and encourages them. Two days later, he receives an honorary Doctor of Education degree from the University of Denver.

Ikeda’s lecture at Columbia University Teachers College, “Thoughts on Education for Global Citizenship,” lays out the essential elements of global citizenship:

• The wisdom to perceive the interconnectedness of all life.
• The courage not to fear or deny difference but to respect and strive to understand people of different cultures and to grow from encounters with them.
• The compassion to maintain an imaginative empathy that reaches beyond one’s immediate surroundings and extends to those suffering in distant places.

The Ikedas return to the SUA Calabasas campus after traveling to New York, Florida, Cuba, and Costa Rica. Until their departure for Japan on July 6, Mr. Ikeda writes and participates in meetings.

Three thousand guests attend the opening of Soka University of America’s Aliso Viejo campus. Ikeda presents the founding principles in his message: foster leaders of culture in the community; foster leaders of humanism in society; foster leaders of pacifism in the world; and foster leaders for the creative coexistence of nature and humanity.

Representatives of the SUA Graduate School Alumni Association visit Ikeda’s office in Tokyo and present an album of photos and letters from the alumni. In response, Ikeda officially names the SUA Graduate School Alumni Association “Soseikai” (literally “Soka Vow/Pledge Group”).

The University Bridge Program launches at the Calabasas campus. Bridge program students are better prepared culturally and academically to study at the Aliso Viejo campus at the program completion.

Uniting around the theme of “Defining SUA,” the first student festival is held in Aliso Viejo. Centering on small discussion groups, it marks a turning point for the pioneering class. They discuss the mission and founding principles of SUA and deepen their understanding of their role as young founders.

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Graduate School’s opening, the school’s alumni association (Soseikai) holds its first official reunion at the Calabasas campus. A total of 61 alumni, students, staff, faculty, and guests attend the full-day event to reconnect and refresh their vow to continue fulfilling their unique missions.

Resolved to promote growth through sportsmanship, community outreach, and competitive experiences, Soka athletics is launched with men’s and women’s swimming teams. The Lions, who regularly win sportsmanship and service awards, now field men’s and women’s soccer, cross-country, track and field, and golf teams.

Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former under-secretary general of the United Nations, is the speaker at the Aliso Viejo campus’ first commencement ceremony. In his congratulatory message, founder Daisaku Ikeda asks graduates to emulate Helen Keller’s spirit of “fighting optimism,” and to never forsake their dreams.

Two months after the Calabasas campus officially closes, the SUA Graduate School Alumni Association (Soseikai) holds its second official reunion. At this last gathering held at the Calabasas campus, a total of 79 alumni, students, staff, faculty, and guests return home from afar and kick off the transition to a new chapter for the SUA Graduate School at the Aliso Viejo campus.

The Graduate School office moves to the Aliso Viejo campus and resumes operations. A welcome gathering is held at Founders Hall. Through campus-wide strategic planning, integration efforts are made, beginning in the spring.

Sohokai, which translates to “Treasures of Soka,” has grown to 1,800 alumni since its establishment. It spans several regional chapters and professional networking groups across the globe, with a mission of strengthening lifelong friendships and fostering enduring connections to SUA.

The Graduate School offers the Summer Bridge Program and Soka Women’s College Program in Aliso Viejo for the first time. Two months later in August, the Extended Bridge Program begins at the Aliso Viejo campus.

The Graduate School enrolls its first group of students, the Class of 2009, at the Aliso Viejo campus. The M.A. program in Second and Foreign Language Education resumes. Two months later in November, Soseikai holds a welcome lunch for the Class of 2009 on campus.

Hiromasa Ikeda, son of founder Daisaku Ikeda, is on hand to dedicate the new concert hall during Soka’s 10th anniversary in Aliso Viejo. He later is the featured speaker at the commencement of the Class of 2011.

The Graduate School launches a new M.A. program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change and enrolls its first class. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Graduate School’s opening and the start of the new program, the Graduate School alumni association Soseikai holds its third official reunion.

One hundred twenty participants from 32 countries gather at SUA for the first World Summit of Educators, after nine months of planning by the Graduate School classes of 2016 and 2017. The event features a celebration of “The Speech That Changed the World” with keynote speaker Betty Reardon, the founder and director of the Peace Education Center at Columbia Teachers College, and special guest Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former under-secretary-general and high representative of the United Nations.

Celebrating 30 years of the Graduate School and 10 years of the Educational Leadership and Societal Change program, the Soseikai alumni association holds a conference-style reunion bringing together alumni, family, staff, and faculty.