This evening the Sophia University Presidential election results were announced, and the winner is ... Professor Tadashi Takizawa of Law Department. Universities in Japan follow different norms to elect or appoint a President. At Sophia, since the Student Revolt of the late 1960's, they have the custom of electing a President. Every tenured or quasi-tenured 'shokutaku' member of Sophia, including non-teaching employees, is eligible to vote. Usually three candidates are presented after various preliminary procedures and vetting, and the voters decide which one of the three they'd like to have as President. Although Sophia is a Jesuit University, the President doesn't have to be a Jesuit; in fact, s/he doesn't even have to be a Catholic or a Christian. The highly esteemed and appreciated current President Yoshiaki Ishizawa, for instance, is not a Christian.
Professor Takizawa is a graduate of the prestigious Todai 'Tokyo University' getting his doctorate in Law and Politics in 1976. He came to Sophia as a Professor in 1984, and has held several important positions including the Dean of the Faculty of Law. He currently serves as the Chief Librarian of Sophia. He has also taught part-time in many other universities, and has spent a couple of months at the Catholic University of Leuven as a visiting Professor.
Professor Takizawa succeeds Professor Ishizawa, who did a remarkable job as the President serving for two terms. Professor Ishizawa brought many honors to Sophia especially by his pioneering research and discoveries in Cambodia, where Sophia University's presence can be seen in Angkor Wat and several other voluntary activities.
Photo Credits: (c) Sophia University, Tokyo
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