President's Position Paper for 2026｜南山大学 南山大学ホーム 総合案内 学長からのメッセージ 学長方針 President's Position Paper for 2026 学長からのメッセージ President's Position Paper for 2026 日本語版 英語版 日本語版 英語版 To All Faculty and Staff of Nanzan University This academic year marks the beginning of my third term as President. Before commencing a new term, it has become customary to meet individually with each member of the University Council to reflect on the past three years and exchange views on future challenges. When I held these discussions with Council members last fall, a common sentiment expressed was that the past three years had been "busy." Indeed, over these past three years, we tackled several major challenges and achieved various bold reforms. I am deeply grateful to all faculty and staff for their dedicated efforts, and to our external partners for their support, which made these achievements possible. Moving forward under the new executive leadership, we will build upon these past accomplishments and continue to devote our full efforts to meeting the needs of a dramatically changing society and fulfilling the University's mission. At university conferences both domestically and internationally, the serious challenges facing universities today are frequently discussed. Issues such as the declining birth rate, the future of education in the AI era, widespread distrust in higher education, and the necessity of contributing to local communities were addressed at recent conferences I attended. Furthermore, global political instability, the breakdown of the post-war world order, and rising nationalist sentiments define the reality we live in. Faced with these challenges, words from the Gospel of John come to mind. Facing death on the Cross, Jesus left his disciples with the powerful words: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid" (John 14:27). I believe this carries the meaning that, no matter the situation, it is crucial to face circumstances calmly. While we are indeed in a difficult situation, I believe that by discerning the essence of the matter and making sound judgments, we can open new horizons. Challenges to be tackled over the next three years include reforming the admissions system, undergoing university accreditation evaluation, formulating a new Grand Design and new Internationalization Vision, enhancing graduate education and research, expanding community partnerships, and establishing a sound financial foundation. It is precisely as we face these challenging tasks that I am acutely reminded of the importance of our university's educational motto: "For Human Dignity." We will promote the introduction of service learning to help learners more concretely understand what "Human Dignity" signifies. With the new executive leadership structure, we have changed the format of the "President's Policy" starting this time. With a three-year term starting in academic year 2026 in mind, this year's policy is presented concisely. Building on the mid-term business plan created last year, this year's goals are set from the perspective of practicing the 3Ds (Dignity, Diversity, Dialogue), established two years ago. Ⅰ．The University's Strategic Plan 1. Formulating a New Vision and Upholding the Founding Principles Begin developing a new grand design and internationalization vision, looking ahead to the 100th anniversary of Nanzan Gakuen (2032) and the 100th anniversary of the university (2046). Continue compiling the university chronicles and planning anniversary projects. Promote service learning as a way to practice human dignity to cultivate religious sensibility. 2. Creating a University Environment that Embraces Diversity Appoint a Vice President for Diversity to play a central role in examining the university's approach to diversity with the aim of fostering collaboration grounded in diversity. Advance diversity-conscious initiatives in faculty recruitment and hiring, the composition of committees, decision making processes, and student extracurricular activities. Continuously review and renovate campus facilities such as athletic facilities and international student dormitories as well as information networks from a long-term perspective, while promoting campus development that considers diversity. Enhance intercultural exchange on campus. 3. Promoting DX and AI Utilization Accelerate the promotion of DX and the utilization of AI to achieve a comfortable and rewarding work environment. Consider developing classroom environments suited to new educational approaches, such as DX-based education and active learning. 4. Introduction and Development of the Core Faculty System Prepare for the 2027 accreditation evaluation and begin discussions on introducing a core faculty system. Begin reviewing the composition of general education and departmental courses, considering the role of core faculty in teaching major subjects under this system. 5. Promoting an Open University and Information Dissemination Deepen collaboration with alumni associations, local communities, and businesses to foster initiatives and dialogue that attract diverse talent to the University. Actively promote the dissemination of information regarding Nanzan University's research, education, and other activities. 6. Human Resource Development Initiate FD/SD programs starting with the FD/SD Committee to ensure all faculty and staff address challenges faced by modern universities. Open Nanzan University's FD/SD programs to other universities. Ⅱ．Globalization Engagement 1. Implementing New Mechanisms for Globalization Engagement Clarify Nanzan's international character and strengthen internal collaboration, starting with the Globalization Promotion Committee, Center for Global Strategies, and International Center. Aim to enhance the quality of study abroad programs, improving the admission system for international students, and intercultural collaborative learning both on campus and online. 2. Enhancing Study Abroad Programs Diversify partner institutions. Explore measures to promote long-term and short-term study abroad. 3.Expanding International Student Admissions Explore new initiatives for the Special Program for International Students to promote admissions. Continuously implement efforts to promote international student admissions in faculties and graduate schools. Ⅲ．Education 1. Enhancing Educational Quality Assurance Promote the transparency of educational practices and facilitate the sharing and continuous improvement of initiatives to enhance educational quality based on IR data. Promote the introduction of mechanisms to ensure quality assurance in education and further explore substantive quality assurance initiatives that enable learners to take a more active role in their learning. 2. Further Promotion of "Learning Only Possible at Nanzan" Promote new educational initiatives that respond to the needs of the times, while further building on Nanzan's educational strengths. Enhance educational content related to mathematics, AI, data science, and the integration of the arts and sciences. Promote intercultural collaborative learning and the enhancement of international education, including language education. Enhance community engagement, problem-solving education practices, and entrepreneurship education. Consider measures to enable students to broaden their learning or deepen their expertise after enrollment, such as double majors, late specialization (deciding a major after enrollment), double degrees, and connections between undergraduate and graduate education. 3. Enhancing Career Education Provide opportunities for long-term work experience internships and the enhancement of career education from the first year. Strengthen the environment and mechanisms that support job hunting activities. 4. Enhancing Graduate Education Support graduate students' overseas travel for academic presentations, fieldwork, international research, etc., through the internationalization promotion projects developed by the Center for Global Strategies. Explore the potential for new integrated undergraduate-graduate degree programs within each graduate school, with a view to incorporating reskilling and recurrent education. Ⅳ．Research 1. Strengthening Research Capabilities Explore ways to utilize campus facilities such as libraries and learning commons in ways that are closely integrated with research and teaching, and pilot initiatives to simultaneously cultivate educational and research capabilities. Review the internal research funding allocation system to support challenging research. Strive to enhance collaborative research facilities to support high-level research. 2. Enhancing Research Support Systems Strengthen mechanisms for effective research ethics education and other initiatives to support high-quality research through research integrity. Continue promoting the aggregation of information on faculty research outcomes and their effective dissemination. Examine systems for accepting diverse external funding and establish mechanisms to promote patent applications for inventions as research outputs. Examine support mechanisms for faculty members contributing to the Tokai region's researcher collaboration framework. Ⅴ．Student Admissions and University-High School Collaboration 1. Promoting the Admission of Diverse Students Implement new general entrance examinations and university-wide unified entrance examinations, while continuously reviewing their structure. Strengthen the comprehensive entrance examination system and consider expanding the Catholic Special Admission Screening and the school-wide and designated school recommendation systems to attract more first-choice applications. 2. Promotion of University-High School Collaboration Strengthen collaboration within the school group and with Catholic junior and senior high schools. Expand cooperation agreements with Catholic junior and senior high schools. Enhance educational collaboration programs and other initiatives targeting the school group and Catholic junior and senior high schools. Expand intercultural collaborative learning within the university-high school collaboration framework. Enhance initiatives for junior high and high school students to tour and experience the campus, while strengthening pre-enrollment education. Ⅵ．Student Support 1. Support for Student Extracurricular Activities Position both sports and cultural extracurricular activities as formal extracurricular activities, encourage student participation, and promote initiatives to invigorate student organizations. Promote initiatives supporting student extracurricular activities such as community contribution, social collaboration, and volunteer work. Continuously encourage initiatives under the Nanzan Challenge Project. 2. Improving the Extracurricular Activity Environment and Promoting Student Exchange Advance the development of an environment where students can grow through extracurricular activities. Promote student exchanges with other universities, including the Jonan Tournament, and exchanges through high school-university collaboration. Ⅶ．Community Contribution and Community Engagement 1. Contributing Academic Knowledge to Society Implement effective public relations based on aggregated information about the university's educational and research practices, and consider establishing a stable system to widely communicate the appeal of current activities to society. Partially standardize the operational systems of research institutes and centers, and aggregate information to communicate the appeal of their activities to external audiences. Promote initiatives to more actively share the intellectual resources held by libraries and museums to society. 2. Promoting Community Engagement Consolidate some existing community engagement initiatives, including those piloted in FY2025, and consider establishing a Social Collaboration Center. Continue implementing the STATION Ai collaboration project and NANZAN SPARK to enhance recognition both within and outside the university. Begin reviewing the structure of the Nanzan Extension College, considering contemporary social needs and the university's strengths. I mentioned at the beginning Jesus' words to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid." Indeed, this year presents many challenges, and the environment we live in is expected to become increasingly demanding. Even in such difficult circumstances, let us continue building Nanzan University toward its 100th anniversary by discerning the essence of the situation and making sound judgments. I look forward to working with all of you to achieve these goals.