Prospectus: The Founding of a New University

　Okinawa University and International University, based on the mutual consent of both parties, have decided to merge in order to establish a new university. Both parties, as private universities, naturally have their own unique ideas about how the new university should be established and the principles for putting those ideas into practice. Similarly, each university has its own unique history and traditions.

　 We have reached the conclusion, however, that while valuing the unique traditions and raisons d'etre of each university, we need to reexamine our problems from the broader perspective of being private universities situated in Okinawa.

　 Prior to World War II, Okinawa did not see the establishment of a single university or technical college, and after the war, both of our universities grew and developed in the unusual environment of a foreign military administration. Our growth has been the result of constant and strenuous efforts that might best be termed "creating anew." Leaving aside the issues of how the universities have contributed to society, or how effectively they have fulfilled their roles, the farsightedness and determination of the founders in prudently responding to Okinawa's need for institutions of higher learning, especially its fervent hope for private universities, deserve to be most highly evaluated.

　 Since our founding, however, we have discovered that smoothly running a private university while constantly maintaining educational programs and research that are of the highest standards of scholarship is by no means an easy task, and a glance at the enormous debt, inadequate personnel, and insufficient facilities of the two universities clearly reveals the difficulty of facing a series of hardships, both moral and material.

　 These problems, though, are not merely the result of careless management or of failing to fill faculty posts and upgrade facilities. Post-war Okinawa has led a troubled history fettered with numerous burdens, and private universities in Okinawa have had to follow the same path. Our current problems are of the same nature as those of post-war Okinawa society, which has reached the critical limit of the autonomous efforts of its citizens.

　 Consequently, our problems are of a fundamentally different nature than problems that might be pointed out in light of the Standards for the Establishment of Universities based on Japanese law, which has been much speculated about with the reversion of Okinawa to Japan, or of complaints that we fail to measure up to universities on the mainland. It would be inappropriate to attempt to grasp our problems only by applying these so-called establishment standards. Nevertheless, we can by no means ignore our problems, regardless of their cause. As for the above-mentioned critical limit, we have been vigilantly mindful of our problems as we conduct the daily tasks of research and education and have unwaveringly been determined to conquer them, but the accumulated years of effort have now reached an impasse.

　 Recognizing this reality, concerned parties from both universities have reached the mutual understanding that they share the same problems and the same means for overcoming them. They have decided to cooperate in reformulating the role of a private university in Okinawa.

　 Accordingly, Okinawa University and International University firmly believe that the so-called identities of the two universities, which have been fostered separately in Okinawa, can be sublated into a new integrated identity-even while mutually respecting the intents and purposes of each founder and the traditions of each university. Indeed, creating a private university that possesses such a strong sense of identity is the obligation of both parties towards Okinawan society.

　 With Okinawa's reversion to Japan this year, private universities in Okinawa will have to compete for their survival with several hundred Japanese universities, but we should steadfastly adhere to our identity as a private Okinawan university, and extend our self-assertiveness to all of Japanese society. This struggle is of the same nature as Okinawa's fight for true freedom and political autonomy over the last quarter of a century that comprises modern Okinawa history.

　 In taking this position, we are appealing to the general public and earnestly hoping for its understanding and cooperation, for we know that the newly planned university cannot survive without the broad support and sympathy of the local community.

　 Fortunately, all groundwork in connection with the organization and management of the new university is currently nearing completion. In addition, the Japanese government has, in compliance with the wishes of the concerned parties, firmly committed itself to providing funds for this new university that has been conceived through our hard work.

　 We have hereby expressed our aspirations and outlined the course of events leading to the establishment of a new university through the merger of Okinawa University and International University. We turn to all concerned for their encouragement and assistance.

January 5, 1972