Fund-Raising Appeal for the 150th Anniversary of Ochanomizu UniversityOchanomizu University was founded by the Meiji Government in 1875, three years after thepromulgation of the school system that established Japan's first modern school system. It wasfirst called the Tokyo Women's Normal School, and its goal was to train female teachers.
It subsequently moved through several incarnations in terms of systems and names: theWomen's Division of the Tokyo Normal School, the Women's Division of the Higher Normal
School, the Women's Higher Normal School, and then the Tokyo Women's Higher Normal
School. It survived the Great Kanto Earthquake and wartime destruction to continue as Japan'spremier school for women. In 1949, it became Ochanomizu University under the new
educational system. As a national university under this system, Ochanomizu University, as awomen’s university, has held firm to its founding spirit as it continues to respond to the needsof society and the needs of the times. When it became a national university corporation in 2004,
its mission was to "be a place where all women who are motivated to learn can realize theirearnest dreams." Today Ochanomizu University continues to carve out a new history toward
broadening the perspective of women's education to a universal plane, with the year 2025 set
to mark the university's 150th anniversary.
As we approach the quarter-century mark of the 21st century, Japan is rapidly moving toward
Society 5.0, a society where cyberspace and physical space are highly integrated, economic
development is compatible with the resolution of social issues, and people can live in peaceand prosperity. To reach such a society, the government's Council for the Creation of Future
Education, for example, has suggested that higher education powering Japan's future mustfoster human resources. This includes educating people "who identify issues independently,
think deeply, and communicate with a diverse range of people in creating new values andvisions and solving social problems." Japan needs to catch up with the rest of the world as
quickly as possible in training personnel with science backgrounds to operate in the digital andenvironmental fields, particularly to redress the significant shortfall of women in these fields.
In addition, a diversity of knowledge, particularly the participation of women, will be essential
in solving the various issues facing the world and realizing the sustainable and peaceful worldsought by the SDGs.

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We continue to pursue human resource development (HRD) with a sense of pride andresponsibility as a designated university driving mathematics, data science, and AI educationin the specific fields of pedagogy and the humanities. To that end, in 2021, Ochanomizu
University established a new interdisciplinary AI and data science curriculum at theundergraduate level, which has been certified under the Mathematics, Data Science and AI
Smart Higher Education Program developed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT). The entire university is also preparing for the establishmentof a new Faculty of Transdisciplinary Engineering (tentative name) in 2024. Two graduate
divisions within this new faculty will be established. The Graduate Division of Human
Environmental Science and the Graduate Division of Cultural Information Science (bothtentative names) aim to integrate engineering, humanities, and social science learning. The
ultimate goal is to cultivate women who can coordinate engineering and technologicalknowledge with liberal arts knowledge to pursue innovation toward a human-centric society.
These initiatives were certified in March 2022 under the MEXT Program for the Developmentof Advanced Experts to Drive Industry DX, thereby accelerating our development of an
educational environment for engineering personnel. In March 2021, Ochanomizu University
was also certified under the MEXT University Fellowship Creation Project for Innovation inScience and Technology for bottom-up-style support. Further, under MEXT's Exploration andDevelopment of Global Entrepreneurship for NEXT Generation (EDGE-NEXT) program, we
have formed a consortium with other universities to pursue the cultivation of women
entrepreneurs and other advanced schemes. As a result, we are actively working toward helping
post-doctoral students secure career paths and engage in future innovation.
With support from the Cabinet Office’s Project for Enhancing the Environment to Create
Innovation in National Universities we are developing an innovation ecosystem environment
to transform Ochanomizu University into a management body that generates innovations.
We have also launched industry-government-academia collaboration on research in the new
field of gendered innovations.
To enhance our university's education and research support system and to promote its
globalization, we are improving our assistance for students and teachers to study and researchabroad and encouraging outstanding international students to study at Ochanomizu University.
Otowakan, a new residence hall with extracurricular facilities, was opened on campus in April
2022 to secure a place where students can learn with peace of mind.
While tirelessly promoting reform and change, our university has supported the growth of each
student. We have contributed to developing female human resources for whom society has highexpectations and women who can take a global perspective in demonstrating the necessary
leadership to create a peaceful and sustainable future. Our university's achievements in this2regard are due entirely to the support we have received from so many of you, and we areprofoundly grateful.
The year 2025 will mark Ochanomizu University's 150th anniversary. We have planned thefollowing four commemorative projects based on the history of the university's developmentwith a view to the university continuing to grow its capacity to respond to social demands andexpectations into the future.
(1) Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Ochanomizu University(2) ESG Campus Development (Alumni Association Hall Site Development)(3) Academic Support Scholarship Fund Commemorating the 150th Anniversary(4) Compilation of "150 Years of history of Ochanomizu University"(1) Commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Ochanomizu University
On November 29, 2025, the date of the 150th anniversary of the university's founding, we willhold a commemorative ceremony with students, teachers, graduates, and everyone who has
continued to support Ochanomizu University, marking our embarkation on a new voyage. A
number of related educational events will be held around that date for the public at large, as
well as lectures on leading-edge education and research and a global symposium.
(2) ESG Campus Development (Alumni Association Hall Site Development)
A new complex will be built on the site of the Alumni Association Hall adjoining the university.
This complex will serve as a platform for the tradition of women's education at Ochanomizu
University and the creation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) congruent systems.
It will also encourage the development of outstanding women with dynamic capabilities who
can resolve social challenges concerning higher education and research and create new value.
The complex will house the Faculty of Transdisciplinary Engineering (tentative name)—ourfirst new faculty since the original three were established 70 years ago in 1950—and becomea memorial building symbolizing Ochanomizu University's 150th anniversary. It will alsoenhance the development of new women scientists and engineers who will create theenvironment, society, and culture of the future, promote industry-university collaboration, andprovide a hub for university-launched ventures.
As the site of the Alumni Association Hall, it will also be utilized as a space to create a newcommons between Ochanomizu University and pupils at the attached schools. Further,
providing a place for open interaction and contributing to activities with members of the local
community as important stakeholders will promote an understanding of innovation andstrengthen the university's capacity to contribute to the community.
The ESG campus development project (Alumni Association Hall site development) centeredaround the construction of this complex will be undertaken on a public private partnership(PPP) and private finance initiative (PFI) basis.

3(3) Academic Support Scholarship Fund Commemorating the 150th Anniversary
This project aims to strengthen Ochanomizu University's development of human resources toshoulder the future and enhance support for learning geared to a new era. There is an urgent
need to produce human resources with a high level of expertise and technological and problemsolving capacity to build a future society that realizes well-being. Our university must foster
digital and environmental experts and other personnel required by society in future years. We
aim to do this by creating an environment in which students can focus on study and researchwithout financial worries, bearing in mind the training of graduates with doctoral degrees toaddress the current shortfall. In an era of dramatic change, it will be vital to bolster support for
all women who desire to learn and create an environment to facilitate that learning. Therefore,
a further aim will be to enhance our systems for encouraging recurrent and reskilling education
to meet the needs of the time and to link this 're-learning' to producing new women leaders todrive Japan's future.
(4) Compilation of "150 Years of History of Ochanomizu University"
This project will entail compiling a commemorative publication entitled "150 Years of Historyof Ochanomizu University" for release in 2026.
The history of Ochanomizu University is also the history of women's education and thedevelopment of female leaders in Japan. The "150th History of Ochanomizu University" isintended to complement the 100 Years of History at Ochanomizu University published in 1984
to convey to the next generation the history of a women's university that overcame the turbulent
seas of reform that led to the incorporation of a national university, and to contribute to women'seducation in the future.
To realize the innovation for the next era that Ochanomizu University has been entrusted with,
we would like to ask for the help of alumni and a wide range of people. The commemorative
projects described above can only be achieved with your generous support. We sincerely hopethat you will agree with our purpose, and we would be grateful if you could support us.
November 2022

SASAKI Yasuko
President, Ochanomizu University4