Making Rapid Strides towards Becoming a World-Class University that Can Contribute to Local Community
Exactly one year has passed since I was appointed the President of Gunma Prefectural College of Health Sciences in April 2009. As such, I would like to discuss my ideas regarding the present state of the college and my vision for its future. Thus far I have been engaged in research and education related to medical physics and radiology at the University of Chicago for 40 years. I would like to capitalize upon this experience to make enormous strides with this school in order to make it a top-notch institution in Japan as well as a world-class college. Achieving this grand goal will require the assistance of a great many people, with the assistance and enthusiasm of students, alumnae, and the teaching faculty in particular being especially crucial for this.
When I first took up my new post I made a promise to the students that I would create an environment and atmosphere in which they could enjoy studying. Yet I feel that in order to achieve this the students cannot just wait for someone to create this for them, but rather they must personally play an active role in giving rise to this. Moreover, I also made a promise to the teaching faculty to create an environment and atmosphere where they can enjoy working, and to offer assistance and support so that each of them can achieve their respective goals and be successful in their own lives. I believe that an environment and atmosphere in which everyone can enjoy both studying and working is essential for allowing people to draw forth motivation on their own. I have decided that I will eat lunch with the students everyday at lunchtime, because I feel that it is necessary to get to know and understand the students in order to improve the college.
While this college opened up as a four-year college in 2005, the medical junior college that was its precursor started in 1993. But the origins of the college lie in a prefectural nursing academy that was created in 1952 and a medical X-ray technician training institute that was established in 1958. What is more, it has a long history of having grown into the Prefectural College of Welfare in 1970, and has approximately 4,000 alumni. The current college consists of the School of Nursing and the School of Radiological Technology, and graduate school master’s courses were initiated last year. Within four years from the school’s establishment, the School of Nursing and the School of Radiological Technology had both established an integrated curriculum which are said to be “next-generation oriented,” in which they structured the college’s principles and educational objectives into their learning content, and put the finishing touches on an outstanding educational program. One of the outcomes from this is reflected in the extremely high pass rate by our students for national examinations in the three areas of nurses, public health nurses, and radiology technicians. Our teaching faculty also actively carry out research activi