Ithaca College

Mineo Nakajima, president of Akita International University (AIU) in Akita, Japan, met with students, faculty, and administrators during a visit to campus on Thursday, May 26. Ithaca College has had an exchange program with AIU since 2006.

A distinguished scholar of China and international relations, President Nakajima is also a well-known music educator. He currently serves as president of the Talent Education Research Institute, home to the Suzuki method of music education.

Among those he met with during his campus visit was Sandy Reuning, director of the School of Music’s Suzuki Institutes, and two students who had just completed the Master of Music degree program in Suzuki Pedagogy. He also attended a violin recital given by children from the Ithaca Talent Education Suzuki School, which is affiliated with the Suzuki Institutes.

Established in 2004 and modeled on American liberal arts colleges, AIU is a public university that offers all of its courses in English and requires all of its students to study abroad. To date, six AIU students have attended Ithaca College for a semester or longer and seven Ithaca students have studied in Japan as part of the exchange program.

Eric Maguire, vice president for enrollment and communication, welcomed Nakajima to campus and presented him with a book of photographs, “The Finger Lakes: Glimpses of Paradise.” Joining him was Yuko Mulugetta, director of enrollment planning, who is a native of Akita and visited AIU to attend the exchange program signing ceremony.