Main Article Text/Images:
The Nagoya Study Tour program celebrated its 50th anniversary in July with a special dinner, campus tour, and reception. A collaborative effort between the Nagoya Broadcasting Network and the University of Utah, the exchange program brought more than 300 students from Nagoya, Japan, to Utah and the United States over the course of nearly 30 years, from 1963 to 1992.
Seven former exchange students from Nagoya came back for the reunion and celebrated along with several members of their Salt Lake City host families, as well as University of Utah employees who helped with the program over the years.
 |
| From left to right, Nelly Divricean (Alumni Association coordinator of international alumni relations), Toshihiro Ishihara, Kazuhiko Akao, Mel Young (longtime U director of the Nagoya program), Yoichi Ohara, U President Dave Pershing, Mayumi Call (who helped with the Nagoya program at the U), Yoshio Ichihara, Takashi Daito, and Katsuji Kanematsu participated in the July reunion. |
The exchange program was the brainchild of then University of Utah President A. Ray Olpin and was sponsored by the Nagoya Broadcasting Network. Japanese students visited the United States for five weeks each summer, all expenses paid, staying in University of Utah dorms while studying at the U, touring the nation (including not just visits to classic “tourist” spots but also meeting with select professors on various campuses), and then living with host families in Salt Lake City. Long-lasting relationships developed over the years, and many of the host families from Utah later visited their students in Japan.
Exchange alumni Kazuhiko Akao, Takashi Daito, Atsutaka Hashimoto, Yoshio Ichihara, Toshihiro Ishihara, Katsuji Kanematsu, and Yoichi Ohara were able to return to Utah for the reunion (many traveling again from Japan, though a few now live in the United States). Former program administrators Boyer Jarvis and Mel Young were among the guests from the U, as well as Mayumi Call, who helped with the exchange program for many years, when her first husband, Bob Mukai, worked with Jarvis on the program.
At the anniversary reception, held at the U Alumni House the evening of July 17, Fred Esplin MS'74, the U's vice president for institutional advancement, updated guests on University activities, including global initiatives such as the new Songdo campus in South Korea, the U’s membership in the Pac-12, growth of the U campus and student body, and current U research. The alumni also toured the University of Utah Hospital and met with U President David Pershing. Later in the day, they shared a special group dinner hosted at the home of Vern and Mayumi Call.
 |
| Yoichi Ohara, Mayumi Call, Vern Call, Kazuhiko Akao, Katsuji Kanematsu, Mel Young, and Yoshio Ichihara dine at the Calls' home. |
About 10 students were chosen for the Nagoya program each summer during a rigorous selection process (often from 150 to 250 applicants). At the U, students attended special seminars on English, American History, geography, politics, and western customs (as well as regular summer classes of their choice). The students then spent a few weeks touring the United States (Las Vegas; the Grand Canyon; New York; Boston; Washington, D.C.; and other destinations). After their travels, they returned to Salt Lake City for a “home stay” with a local family, experiencing American family life and sharing some of their own traditions.
Olpin was inspired to initiate the exchange program following a visit to Japan in the spring of 1963. His interest in Japan and intercultural exchange brought him into contact with Shotoro Kamiya, founder and then president of the Nagoya Broadcasting Network (NBN), who was looking to celebrate the successful first year of his company. Olpin suggested that NBN sponsor Japanese college students on a study tour of the United States, with the U as host. Kamiya agreed with the proposal, and Olpin contacted Boyer Jarvis, then head of the summer school at the U and assistant to the president, asking him to make arrangements for that summer. The Nagoya Study Tour was born.
Mel Young, program director for more than 20 years, says, “The Nagoya Study Tour has been a great catalyst in fostering understanding between Utah and Japan,” resulting in many business and educational exchanges, in addition to personal friendships.
The program changed lives. Many alumni cite their exchange experience as impacting them for the better in numerous ways, expanding how they saw themselves and the world. Yoshio Ichihara, now a cardiologist in Nagoya, credits his visit to Utah with his career path. Before coming to Utah, he was a medical student, but unsure of his focus. While at the U, he stayed with a U clinical professor in cardiology and visited his clinic, where Ichihara had his first experience with cardiology by learning about listening to the cardiac sounds of a patient with a bicuspid aortic valve. The experience led him to pursue cardiology.
 |
| Exchange program alumni, former hosts, and U staff involved with the program—including Boyer Jarvis (center front) and alum Atsutaka Hashimoto (top row, third from left)—gather at the Alumni House reception. Hashimoto, now a psychiatrist with his own clinic in Osaka, has been one of the main drivers bringing Nagoya Study Tour alumni back together. |