On May 27, during a Josai delegation visit to China, Chancellor Noriko Mizuta was named an honorary faculty member at the Dalian University of Technology.

Josai first formed an academic exchange agreement with Dalian on August 5, 2007. The “Mikio Mizuta Memorial” Noriko Mizuta Scholarship Fund was established the same year in the interest of fostering global human resources in China. To date, nearly one hundred students have received this award, the funds of which have done much to support their studies. In that very same year, the Mikio Mizuta Memorial Book Donation was also established, with over 770 volumes in the fields of economics, culture, history, natural science, dictionary, and others being contributed a total of nine times. In addition, the two universities have been extremely active in collaborating in a variety of programs including internship and in-service training, joint research, conference and symposia, as well as faculty and student exchange. Finally, in 2010 the three universities―along with Dalian University of Technology, Dalian University of Foreign Languages and Northeastern University―established the Japan-China Joint Doctoral Degree, which has brought many Chinese graduate students to Josai for research and to attend intensive seminars. The first students from this program will receive their PhDs this spring.
   It is to acknowledge her contributions and achievements in the aforementioned areas, that Chancellor Mizuta was named an honorary professor at the Dalian University of Technology. At a ceremony attended by numerous representatives from both universities, Chancellor Mizuta received her award along with a university badge from Party Secretary Zhang Dexiang of Dalian University of Technology.
   Dalian University of Technology has acknowledged a number of exceptional scholars in a variety of fields with honorary professor awards including Nobel Prize winners Ryoji Noyori, Akira Suzuki, and Eiichi Negishi, as well as Josai’s own Advisor Takashi Murai, and Special Advisor to the Chancellor Akihisa Inoue (formerly of Tohoku University).
   After receiving her award, Chancellor Mizuta addressed the audience by saying, “It is a tremendous honor to receive this award and be acknowledged for the efforts that have gone into deepening ties and educational exchange between Josai and Dalian. I will continue to work hard for the sake of fostering global human resources which will in turn contribute to both the development of our universities and the growth of Japan-China relations.” Following the ceremony, Chancellor Mizuta gave a lecture entitled “Character Formation and Research in Joint Multicultural Education” for the students and faculty members assembled to commemorate her award.

This honor marks the sixth honorary professorship or doctoral degree that Chancellor Mizuta has received from other universities including South China Normal University (professorship, Dec., 2007), Dongseo University (doctorate, Sep., 2010), Szent István University (doctorate, Jun., 2011), Northeastern University (professorship, Sep., 2012), and Budapest Business School (professorship, Nov., 2012).