U of A Celebrates Kansai Gaidai's 70th Anniversary, Reflects on Rich Partnership

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Kim Needy (left) with Ashok Saxena and his wife, Madhu, at Kansai Gaidai University

University of Arkansas provost Ashok Saxena and Kim Needy, dean of the Graduate School and International Education, recently travelled to Osaka, Japan to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Kansai Gaidai University.

The relationship between the two institutions dates back nearly 50 years, as the University of Arkansas was the first U.S. exchange partner with Kansai Gaidai.

"It was a great honor to participate in Kansai Gaidai University's 70th anniversary as the inaugural institution and observe this milestone with 27 other institutions representing six continents across the globe," Saxena said.

The University of Arkansas sent a group of students to the Japanese university for the first time in 1968, as part of a one-month summer program. A cohort of Kansai Gaidai students spent the following summer on the Fayetteville campus. The relationship was formalized by a reciprocal student exchange agreement in 1972 and has provided transformative educational and cultural experiences to nearly 75 University of Arkansas students and more than 50 Kansai Gaidai students.

To mark the institution's 70th anniversary, Kansai Gaidai hosted its key international exchange partners at the Osaka campus as part of the celebration.

"The campus is state-of-the-art and all faculty, staff and students with whom we had the pleasure of meeting were warm and inviting," Needy said. "We encourage more U of A students to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to study abroad at Kansai Gaidai." 

International education is at the core of the University of Arkansas' mission and is continuing to see steady growth. The university is currently home to more than 1,800 international students and scholars from 114 countries. Participation in study abroad programs continues to grow as well, as 900 students studied abroad in 51 countries during the 2014-15 academic year.

Saxena and Needy's time in Osaka has reenergized the partnership between the two institutions. Officials from both universities are looking forward to sending more students to each other's campuses in the years to come.