2012 New Year's Greetings

January 4, 2012
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Director Tadashi Matsunaga

A Happy New Year to all of you!

Last year was a very difficult year, marked by the unprecedented disasters of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident that followed the disaster.

This year, in order to restore the vitality of Japan, the faculty and staff will work together to contribute to society through education and research, which is the original purpose of a university, and I look forward to working with you all.

At the end of last year, the government draft budget for FY2012 was compiled amidst a very difficult financial situation. The subsidy for operating expenses for national university corporations, which was expected to be significantly reduced, has been reduced by 0.9% for national universities as a whole, but only by 0.5% for our university. Looking at the details, the annual reduction of 1% in personnel expenses for faculty members and property expenses other than the establishment standard Faculty Member is still being implemented, and other expenses are also being assessed very strictly. On the other hand, looking at the budgets for higher education and science and technology, priority budget measures are being given to reconstruction projects that will determine the future of the country, global human resource development, and projects related to the promotion of green and life innovation. The amount of funding for basic research is also expected to increase in FY2012 due to the introduction of a new funding system for newly adopted "Basic Research (B)" and "Young Scientists (A)" programs. The University must continue to actively acquire competitive funds related to these programs.

In addition, the University, together with other corporations, needs to work tirelessly on university reform. University reform means guaranteeing the quality of education and clarifying individuality and characteristics, promoting inter-university cooperation, and upgrading university management. Specifically, we must reorganize Faculty & Graduate Schools with educational review, expand the appointment of foreigners, practitioners, and others to Faculty Member and executive positions, fundamentally reform the system to expand interactive study abroad, establish a joint Faculty & Graduate Schools that leverages each other's strengths, and collaborate beyond university boundaries to The examples include revitalization of education and research through collaboration beyond university boundaries, joint administration for efficient university management, and strengthening of the management system through centralized management and appropriate use of university information. The University has been working on reforms in response to the times, such as organizational reform of the graduate school, the establishment of Japan's first joint graduate school with Waseda University through national-private partnership, and Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine with Iwate University that will start in April this year. Furthermore, reforms of Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering (BASE), centers, and administrative organizations are under consideration. We will continue to implement university reforms to accurately respond to the demands of the public, industry, and other sectors.

Now, our university will celebrate the 140th anniversary of its foundation in 2014. The university started as Agricultural Training School and Sericulture Experiment Section? of Ministry of Home Affairs in Naito Shinjuku in 1874, moved to Komaba and then to Fuchu for agriculture and forestry, moved to Nishigahara and then to Koganei for engineering, became Tokyo College of Textile Science and Technology, was established as a national university Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology after World War II, and became a national university corporation. In commemoration of the 140th anniversary, various projects are underway, including fundraising and the establishment of a commemorative hall. Let us build Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology of the future while continuing the good traditions established by our predecessors.

Finally, I would like to conclude my New Year's greetings by wishing Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology a new year of development and a wonderful year for all of you, faculty and staff.