President's Message

As we see young leaves coloring the landscape in multiple shades of green, some of you are probably winding down the year and looking forward to a few months of having more time to yourself; some are busily preparing for their summer programs, and others are thinking ahead to the next academic year. Whatever you are doing, I hope you have a chance to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

2008 marked the first year of the Japanese National Honor Society, a new activity of ATJ. We had a very nice show of interest in response to our call for applications. One hundred forty-eight students will graduate this spring from universities and colleges with the distinction of JNHS membership, acknowledged with a certificate of recognition. I hope interest in this new activity of the organization will grow each year. For a complete list of the students and their colleges and universities, please see the article on page 2.

We also received a record number of applications this spring for the Bridging Scholarships for Study Abroad in Japan. We are thankful for the generous support of the Japan-US Friendship Commission, which supports our efforts to encourage more students to study abroad in Japan and our administration of the scholarship program, and grateful to the organizations that contribute to the scholarships through donations to the US-Japan Bridging Foundation, now in its tenth year. Fifty American undergraduate students (from among the 500 who applied) will study in Japan for a semester or a year, starting in Autumn 2008, with stipend support provided by a Bridging Scholarship. While more Americans are now participating in study abroad programs in general than was the case a few years ago, many are electing to take part in shorter programs. The Bridging Scholarship provides financial support for a more substantial experience in Japan.

This year also marks the tenth year since the formation of the Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ), which is an umbrella organization for two organizations, ATJ and NCJLT (National Council of Japanese Language Teachers). The Executive Board of AATJ has begun to review the current structure of AATJ and the relationship between the two sister organizations. NCJLT was formed in the early 1990s as NCSTJ with the support of the then-president of ATJ, the late Professor Hiroshi Miyaji. A few years later, it was renamed with the intention of including all K-12 - not just secondary - teachers. Now its board members include post-secondary teachers of Japanese as well. The two organizations have different organizational structures (mostly individual memvership vs. mostly membership though affiliate local organizations), different board structures (elected vs. Appointed), and different affiliations (AAS vs. ACTFL); but the original distinction (secondary vs. post-secondary) is no longer present. I hope that through several discussions we will be able to come up with a stronger overall structure to support all professionals in all disciplines related to Japanese language.

Another reflection we are having is about the administrative structure of ATJ. Seven years ago, the Bylaws of the organization were changed drastically to implement the current structure of an elected three-person office of the presidency (Past President, President, and President-elect) as well as a nine-member elected Board. While these structures accomplished several important things, including better representation of the membership in its administration, they have also created some concerns, one of which is lack of continuity in the president's office. With the support of the current Board members, I have formed a committee to review the current Bylaws and to suggest revision(s). We will be reporting on the recommendations of the committee as they become available. If you have any suggestions, please direct them to any of the following committee members: Paul Warnick (paul_warnick@byu.edu), Masumi Reade (masumi.reade@gmail.com), Stephen Snyder (ssnyder@middlebury.edu), and Yasuko Ito Watt (ywatt@indiana.edu).

Last week, I had the opportunity to join Alliance Executive Director Susan Schmidt in representing AATJ at the annual meeting of the Joint National Committee for Languages-National Council for Languages and International Studies. These organizations advocate for foreign languages at the Congressional level, provide networking opportunities for various language organizations, and promote information-sharing among these organizations. There are a number of legislative proposals related to foreign languages that are currently being discussed on Capitol Hill. Attending the JNCL-NCLIS meetings made me aware of the importance of representation in these advocacy organizations. Please check their web site, www.languagepolicy.org, to see what they are doing, what is happening at the Congressional level, and what you can do to help the profession.