Peter Salovey, who helped advance Yale’s educational and research mission as the university’s 23rd president, was awarded an honorary degree by Waseda University in Japan during a ceremony earlier this month.
The honorary degree, the highest honor bestowed by Waseda University, recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, the arts, society, or humanity, and who the university “deems appropriate to honor.”
Salovey received the honorary degree during the entrance ceremony for Waseda’s undergraduate and graduate schools of political science and economics, law, and education, which was held on April 1.
During the ceremony, Salovey recognized a long history of exchange between the two universities that goes back more than a century. And he reminded incoming students of the importance of collaboration — including with people from other fields and disciplines and those who bring different experiences.
“I believe that the educational experience in the classroom, laboratory, and studio is enhanced by the presence of people who — no matter who you are — have had different life experiences than you, who do not share the same learning history and cultural experiences,” said Salovey.
“I suggest that you seek out opportunities to work with others whose backgrounds are different from your own.”
Salovey, who is also Sterling Professor of Psychology at Yale, returned to the faculty last year after an 11-year term as president. Before becoming Yale’s president, in 2013, he served as the university provost, dean of Yale College, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and chair of the Department of Psychology.
He also currently serves on Waseda President Aiji Tanaka’s strategic advisory committee.
In honoring Salovey, Waseda University lauded his commitment to fostering a cross-disciplinary environment for research and education at Yale, to creating of ecosystems of innovation, and to nurturing “enriched global engagement,” particularly with countries in Africa and Asia.
The relationship between Yale and Waseda goes back to the early 20th century, when Waseda alumnus Asakawa Kan’ichi earned his Ph.D. from Yale, in 1902. Asakawa went on to become the first Japanese professor in the United States, teaching at Yale for 35 years.
The two universities have continued to bolster their partnership in recent decades. Waseda partners with Yale in academic exchange through the Yale Summer Session and the Fox International Fellowship. Waseda was also the only Japanese university to participate in Yale’s Visiting International Student Program, an exchange program that invited students to live at Yale and take classes for up to a full academic year.
In 2007, Waseda established the Asakawa Senior Fellowship Program, in commemoration of the legacy of Asakawa, which promotes collaboration between the two universities by providing Yale scholars with opportunities to teach and research at Waseda.
As Yale president, Salovey last year traveled to Japan to strengthen the university’s engagement with institutions in the East Asian nation and the broader region, including efforts to build Yale’s research and educational partnerships at Waseda University and the University of Tokyo. (Earlier this spring, a delegation from Yale’s Office of International Affairs made another trip to Japan to strengthen the university’s collaborations in the region.)
To learn more about Yale and Japan, visit the Yale and the World website.
