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Outline of the University |
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About Us
Lake Biwa is our campus,
and Humanity is our text
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This is the
slogan of our university. The phrase “Lake Biwa is our
campus” symbolizes the firm commitment by our university
and the people of Shiga Prefecture toward caring for the
environment of Lake Biwa and its surroundings. The
phrase “humanity is our text” represents our educational
emphasis on the human being. Those phrases also reflect
the characteristics of Shiga
Prefecture.
Lake Biwa is the largest lake
in Japan, providing water for 15 million people in
Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe in the Kinki region. The
surrounding basins of the lake support agricultural,
urban and industrial activities in the prefecture, but
recent industrial expansion and population growth have
been causing environmental problems. To stop further
environmental deterioration, the government, factories
and citizens in the prefecture have joined forces and
made various efforts. As a result, Shiga Prefecture has
become one of the leading environmental-conscious
prefectures in Japan and promotes various activities
related to the natural ecosystem.
Many
talented men and women have historically come from Shiga
Prefecture since the time it was called Ohmi. This can
be attributed to the location of Shiga Prefecture, which
has been a strategic center and crossroads of major
routes to northern and eastern Japan from ancient times
to the present. Vigorous traffic activities brought
various local cultures together to villages and towns
along the routes, which encouraged and made possible for
the people to develop the enterprising spirits of
Ohmi.
Since the environment and human life are
related to various fields of academic disciplines, the
activities of our faculty members cover these from
humanities to science and technology. A rather small
student body of about 2600 offers ample opportunities of
close contact and communication among students as well
as between students and faculty. We consider that this
is vital to achieving our motto: “a university where
people can grow.”
To cultivate individual
creativity, students are encouraged to pursue the
subjects that interest them most, in addition to those
in their specialized disciplines. In all departments,
they spend a great deal of their time on field work,
experiments and seminars, in which an emphasis is
placed on ties to and bonding with local communities in
Shiga Prefecture. Such activities help us fulfill the
following motto: “Take root in the community, learn from
the community, and contribute to the
community.”
We were the first among Japanese
universities to establish a School of Environment
Science in 1997. Since then, social situations have
changed rapidly and greatly. Environmental issues, such
as global warming, pollution in lakes and water
shortages are our great concerns world wide. Conflicts
rising from cultural and religious differences are
spreading world wide, and so cross-cultural
understanding is vital for keeping peace in the future.
To accommodate such social changes and act on social
needs, our university was reorganized as a public
university corporation in April, 2006, and is no longer
under prefectural control. Our emphasis on environment
and human life continues to be relevant to the next
generation. We welcome young people who are truly
concerned with the future of the
world. |
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| THE UNIVERSITY OF SHIGA PREFECTURE |  |
| 2500, Hassaka-cho, Hikone-City, Shiga 522-8533 Japan
TEL 81-0749-28-8200 FAX 81-0749-28-8470 E-mail webmaster@usp.ac.jp |
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| Copyright (C) 2006 University of Shiga Prefecture, All rights reserved. |
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