Randolph-Macon College recently welcomed a group of esteemed international visitors. Seven members of Ishinomaki Senshu University (ISU)—five students and two faculty—arrived in the United States on September 1, 2018 for a 12-day visit that combined sightseeing, research and collaboration.

Exchange Program
At a luncheon on campus, RMC Provost William Franz welcomed the group and commended the beginning of a two-year exchange program between ISU and RMC.

Supported by the U.S.-Japan Council’s TOMODACHI Initiative, it builds on the strong relationship already formed between the two institutions, which was deepened and enhanced by the first TOMODACHI Fund/Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund (TAMF)-supported research exchanges that took place between the two colleges in 2015 and 2016. Randolph-Macon College and Ishinomaki Senshu University officially became partner institutions in 2017; the partnership agreement allows for a range of possible exchange activities to take place.

Generous Funding, In-depth Research
The TOMODACHI Initiative invests in the next generation of Japanese and American leaders through educational and cultural exchanges as well as leadership programs. The TAMF was created in honor of Taylor Anderson, RMC Class of 2008, who died in the March 11, 2011 tsunami that resulted from the Great East Japan earthquake. Anderson was teaching English in Ishinomaki, Miyagi with the Japan Exchange and Teaching program when she died.

As part of the new grant, students at each institution are developing academic and cultural research questions to be explored on each other’s campuses and in each other’s countries. Special attention is being given to the themes of disaster and recovery, in recognition not only of the 3.11.11 disasters in the Tohoku region of Japan, but also of the continuing challenges posed more recently by natural disasters in the U.S. and elsewhere.

The ISU group’s two research topics for their 2018 visit to RMC were “Marine Plankton Studies Triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake,” and “The Current Status and Issues of Regional Revitalization in Ishinomaki After the Great East Japan Earthquake.” The group attended biology, sociology, business, and Japanese classes on campus, met with faculty and students, and presented their research on September 10 in the Mullen Boardroom.

The Taylor Anderson Memorial Collection
On September 7, Nancy Falciani-White, director of the McGraw-Page Library, presented the ISU delegation with a book, written by former director of the Library Ginger Young, that gives a visual history of Randolph-Macon College through materials from the McGraw-Page archives. The presentation took place in the Library’s Special Collections & Archives, which houses the Taylor Anderson Memorial Collection. The collection includes materials that honor both Anderson and Ishinomaki.

“Since 2011, the library at ISU has presented Randolph-Macon College with materials related to the earthquake, tsunami, Ishinomaki, and disaster recovery that are included in our collection,” says Falciani-White. “These materials have been given to RMC groups visiting ISU, and we have presented them with materials about Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, and the United States on our visits to ISU.”

Excursions
The ISU delegation’s visit also included trips to Washington, D.C.; Richmond; and Williamsburg. In D.C., they visited several museums, toured the U.S. Capitol; attended a Washington Nationals baseball game; visited the U.S.-Japan Council/TOMODACHI Initiative headquarters; and toured the Library of Congress and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Once in Virginia, they also visited the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden; the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS); and James Madison’s Montpelier. While in residence at Randolph-Macon College, the group joined President and Mrs. Lindgren for dinner with RMC international students; and they were special guests at a party hosted by Taylor Anderson’s parents, Andy and Jean.

In summer 2019, a group of students and faculty from Randolph-Macon College will visit Japan and ISU.