Ikeda Institute 5th Year Anniversary

April 25 marked the 5^th year anniversary of the establishment of the Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education at DePaul University.

In a message commemorating the Institute’s opening, Daisaku Ikeda stated,

“It is truly humbling that the institute for studies in education established at this university should bear my name, and I offer my most heartfelt congratulations on this newly created arena for academic exchange that transcends the boundaries of East and West in pursuit of global citizen education for the twenty-first century.”

Thank you to everyone who has supported and contributed to the Institute’s success over the past 5 years!

Here are some highlights from the first 5 years!

Annual Ikeda Lecture

In 2015, the Institute launched the Ikeda Lecture, which features renowned intellectuals whose work engages or intersects with themes present in Daisaku Ikeda’s efforts in peace, culture, and education. Past speakers have included Larry Hickman, Jim Garrison, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Awad Ibrahim.

Larry Hickman and Jim Garrsion take questions from audience members. Photo Credit: Bob Nardi

Ikeda Receives DePaul Honorary Degree in 2016

Reverend Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., DePaul University’s 11th president, conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters on Institute namesake, Daisaku Ikeda, in a special ceremony in Tokyo, Japan. President Holtschneider recognized Ikeda’s many efforts in education and peacebuilding and expressed his high hopes for the Institute to contribute to the lives of youth.

Hiromasa Ikeda receives the honorary degree from former DePaul University President Holtschneider Photo Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship

In 2017, DePaul announced its master’s degree and credential programs in Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship. The programs engage pre- and in-service educators from around the world in actualizing the philosophies and practices of Daisaku Ikeda, Josei Toda, and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi in their local contexts. The programs are completely online and center on value-creative approaches to fostering learners’ dialogic agency, global citizenship, imaginative empathy, and contributive living. For details, visit: go.depaul.edu/vce.

Doctoral Research Dialogue Series

Beginning in 2015, the Institute established the Doctoral Research Dialogue Series as a means for doctoral students in the area of Ikeda/Soka Studies in Education to engage in dialogue around their emerging scholarship. Past presenters include Julie Nagashima (University of Pittsburgh) and Simon Hoffding (University of Copenhagen, Denmark). On May 22, 2019, we are pleased to welcome Alankrita Chhikara (Purdue University).

Dialogue session with Julie

Ikeda/Soka Studies Conference

In August 2018, the Institute hosted the 1st International Conference on Ikeda/Soka Studies in Education. A hundred scholars, educators, and graduate students from 10 countries and across the United States attended the conference. Under the theme of “Uniting, Defining, and Advancing the Field: Perspectives, Practices and Possibilities,” participants discussed the current state of, and actively and collaboratively united, characterized, defined, and advanced scholarship in, the globally expanding field of Ikeda/Soka Studies in Education.