Tokyo International University of America

The one-year program at Tokyo International University of America (TIUA) and Willamette University enables students to pursue academic goals, develop intercultural awareness, and explore personal values and interests. Co-curricular programs are designed to offer students opportunities to learn through experience about other people and cultures. As a result, students also gain and share insights about their own traditions and values.

President Arai: Thanks from everyone at TIUA and Willamette

Takayoshi Arai, President of TIU and TIUA, visited on December 17 and 18 in order to participate in the Closing Ceremony of the 2009 program and to meet with WU and TIUA faculty and administrators. President Arai has served as President of both TIU and TIUA for the last eight years and will be retiring in March of 2010.

Welcome Jane Averill

Please join us in welcoming to campus Jane Averill, the new TIUA Director of Academic Programs.

Professor Averill brings to the position decades of experience in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), having done her graduate work in the field at San Francisco State University. Prior to joining TIUA, for the last 19 years, she was on the faculty and working in academic administration at Oregon State University. Jane brings many years of experience in curriculum and instruction, in the development and management of academic English programs as well as a wide variety of special programs, and she has been very active in the profession on a regional, national, and international level. In addition, she has had significant experience in teacher education.

If you have any questions, would like to introduce yourself, or would like more information about TIUA academic programs, please contact Jane. Her email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Her extension on campus is x3306 (503-373-3306).

TIUA Class of 2010 Arrives

Ninety three students from Japan arrived today to begin their year in Salem. The American Studies Program classes begin Monday, February 15th. There are many opening days activities planned this week so the students can become familiar with campus and Salem as well as get to know their roommates and other students.

Students raise funds to send a water buffalo to Zambia through Heifer International

Fall semester was a time of big dreams, especially for one group of TIUA students. For Kazuma Mochizuki (TIUA '09), the dream began in high school when he saw a documentary about hunger in Africa. "When I was a high school student, I was watching a TV program about poor countries," Kazuma recalls. "While I was watching the program, I started thinking about what I could do for those people. I was hoping that I could contribute to them some day." After spending over half the year in Salem, he found a group of students who shared his volunteer spirit: Shiho Ohashi, Kohei Oshima, Yuto Shirane, Sarasa Suzuki, and Shinko Suzuki.