Pacific Intercultural Institute Records

The Pacific Intercultural Institute was program at Pacific University that focused on developing curricula in Asian cultures and languages, especially Japanese. It was funded by a grant from the Matsushita Foundation in 1988. Its mission was "to create and further an intercultural curriculum and understanding of issues that face the peoples of the Pacific region for the knowledge and awareness of the larger Pacific University student community." The group was led by an executive board, called the Pacific Foundation, which included Pacific University's Vice President of Academic Affairs (the University Provost). The stated goals of the Foundation were to make Pacific University a premiere place to study East Asian culture and language in an effort to deepen American-Japanese ties. The institute ran several focus group activities throughout its active years on campus, sponsored study fellowships for American teachers in Japan and hosted Pacific's first Symposium that brought international leaders and business officials to the University. The Institute was no longer active as of the late 2000s, but many of its aims were folded into other programs at Pacific University.