New Faculty Development Program 2020 (September to November 2020) =Report #2=

On Tuesdays in the Autumn Term each year, the New Faculty Development Program (NFDP) is held. The theme of the second session, which took place on September 15, was “Christian Beliefs and Liberal Arts Education.” Three people facilitated the session for us: the two University Ministers at ICU and a professor who is the Chair of the Religious Affairs Committee. We listened to talks on Christianity at ICU, Christian activities at ICU, and the relationship between Christianity and liberal arts. Since the session was attended by members of staff who joined ICU during the past year in addition to new faculty, it provided an opportunity for new faculty and staff to meet one another.

The following week on September 22, the third session, “Liberal Arts Education / ICU History and Mission,” took place. It was facilitated by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. In the session, as an expert on modern and contemporary Japanese history, the Vice President explained the historical background and the background behind the founding of ICU with reference to his experiences of conducting research under Professor Kiyoko Takeda at ICU. Moreover, he went beyond this and spoke with passion about the mission and values of ICU as well as the future of ICU.