UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 12, Page 2
November 21, 1991
Japanese delegation makes second visit to University
By Sue Swyers Moncure

     Getting to know each other is the first step of any
relationship, and the University is now actively involved in one
such getting-acquainted operation with an area in Japan.
     Earlier this month, the University entertained a group of
government officials from the city of Sendai - located in the
prefecture of Miyagi in the northern tip of the main island of
Japan. The reception and dinner at the Blue and Gold Club was part
of the itinerary for the second visit the Japanese have made to
Delaware.
     Last month, Kenneth Biederman, dean of the College of Business
and Economics, joined John Casey and Larry Windley, both of the
Delaware Development Office, and Terry Spence, speaker of the House
of Representatives of Delaware's General Assembly, for a trip to
Miyagi.
     According to Biederman, a sister-state relationship between
the state of Delaware and Miyagi is being developed and preliminary
agreements have been signed.
     In addition to commerce and trade opportunities, discussions
are under way for educational exchanges with Tohoku University,
Biederman said. Tohoku University is strong in engineering,
agriculture and business, and it is comparable in size to the
University of Delaware. For example, Tohoku has no MBA program, and
the Japanese have expressed an interest in sending students to
Newark to enter Delaware's program.
     "As business and industry become increasingly international in
the '90s, it is important that students have a broader,
international component in their educational experience as well.
This kind of exchange program will help further this goal for both
students and faculty," Biederman said.