JAPANESE BUSINESSMAN BOOSTS UNIVERSITY

Southeast Missouri State University's proposed College of Business Administration building will include an international business center thanks in part to a $150,000 donation from a Japanese businessman.

Yoshihiro Takase, a longtime friend and supporter of the university, made the donation Wednesday. His son, Shigeomi, is a 1984 graduate of Southeast.

The donation will be used to help fund the Yoshihiro Takase International Business Board Room and Teaching Center, designed to be a state-of-the-art learning complex. The facility will be composed of four components anchored by an international business board room that will feature the latest in telecommunications technology.

Takase said: "I hope that the two rooms, the board room and the teaching center, will encourage everyone to expand their outlook to international business.

"I like the idea of a facility dedicated to the promotion of international communication and understanding."

In addition to the board room, the center will house an office for an executive-in-residence, a proposed new program to bring top-level executives, either domestic or international, to the university.

Under the program, executives will meet with classes, present on-campus seminars and make selected presentations to off-campus groups.

Takase's gift will help furnish and equip this office as well as an international business classroom adjacent to the office. The classroom will be equipped with maps and computers.

A small catering area will be included to support conferences and seminars on international business topics.

Southeast President Kala Stroup said, "Southeast is delighted with Mr. Takase's generosity. These funds will allow the College of Business Administration to better focus on the rapidly changing global economy.

"Mr. Takase's gift will establish a facility on campus that will help foster a better understanding of international business among our students," she said.

Provost Leslie Cochran said, "The international center will be integrated into the core of our business curriculum. We see that as a tribute to higher education and to international education."

Richard Schmidt, dean of the College of Business Administration, said Takase's gift is integral in helping Southeast place a new international perspective on its business disciplines.

"With this gift, the college will be able to make giant strides forward in bringing an understanding of the world marketplace to our students," Schmidt said.

Takase, 61, became associated with Southeast after his son graduated from the university. It was then that the younger Takase learned that the university was considering reactivating a preparatory education program for foreign students and asked his father to become involved.

In response, the elder Takase founded the Japan-America Academic Center. The organization helps American universities recruit Japanese students.

Southeast was the first United States university to work with the center, and as a result the first group of University Preparatory Education program students arrived on campus in 1985.

More than 400 Japanese students are now attending six American colleges and universities in four states.

Cochran said the Japan-America Academic Center is a unique educational cooperative.

"Parents trust this man to send their children half way around the world to study for nine or 10 months based on his recommendation," Cochran said. "That is very different from our culture. It's sometimes tough for a student to come from Advance for a weekend."

The Japan-America Academic Center has a counseling center in Cape Girardeau at 733 Watkins Drive. The center advises Japanese students in Cape Girardeau, makes Japanese newspapers available to them and assists them with local job placement.

The center currently serves 160 Japanese students in Cape Girardeau and has served more than 200 since its inception. Thus far, 40 such students have graduated from Southeast.

Takase has also been instrumental in helping Southeast recruit Japanese business people to participate in its International Business Institute, a program designed to improve English speaking skills among Japanese business people.

The gift, announced Wednesday, is part of the university's New Vision of Excellence $25 million capital campaign. Money raised will go toward the business building and other projects on campus.