Academic Year 2015 Graduation Ceremony—President’s Farewell Address

28.03.2016 Update

Congratulations to this year’s 488 new graduates! On behalf of the entire faculty and staff of Ochanomizu University, I extend my sincerest congratulations to you, your families and all those who have supported you in reaching this important milestone. Thank you for supporting our students in their studies over the years they’ve been here. And to all of our guests who have taken time out of their busy schedules to join us here today, thank you for coming out to celebrate and bid a fond farewell to these fine graduates.

As you all know, Ochanomizu University celebrated its 140th anniversary last year on November 29. Many guests gathered to celebrate with us at the commemoration ceremony and related events. The commemoration ceremony featured a speech by Professor Emeritus Masuko Honda, who became the first female president of the university in 2001. Those who attended the ceremony were deeply moved by her talk and the deep affection she expressed for Ochanomizu University. I’d like to share with you parts of her speech today to show the role this university has played over its long history. One of these is the story of when an honorary doctorate was issued to Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and another is about a certain upper-level classmate here at the same time Professor Emeritus Honda was attending the school.

Do you all know who Wangari Maathai is? She was a biologist who became the first female professor at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. She focused on environmental destruction promoted in the name of “development,” and on the people left out of the benefits of development. She launched various environmental protection activities, and in 1977 created the Green Belt Movement. This movement, through the environmental protection activity of planting trees, provided work to the women in the African agricultural belt who had lacked opportunities for earning an income or being independent. It contributed to improvements in the status of women, alleviated poverty and promoted democracy. In the 34 years from that time until her death in 2011, more than 100,000 people participated in movements she initiated, and planted 45 million trees.

Thanks to her steady dedication, she became the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She was also active in politics, having served as the assistant minister for the Environment and Natural Resources in Kenya and as the first chairperson of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union.

Maathai came to Japan in 2005 at the invitation of the Mainichi Newspapers Co., Ltd. During that visit, the Japanese concept of mottainai(too good to waste) really resonated with her. She is also known as someone who promoted the mottainaicampaign worldwide.

When she visited Japan, we informed her through the Mainichi Newspapers that we wanted to award her an honorary doctorate from Ochanomizu University. She apparently received many such offers, but ultimately ended up accepting our offer. At the degree conferment ceremony, she remarked, “I have been told that Ochanomizu University is an old institution established by the government when Japan became a modern state, and that it has been managed by the government using taxpayer money. The nation of Japan, both its government and citizens, seems to place high importance on the education of women. Ochan