Jack Fujimoto
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Masakazu Jack Fujimoto (born July 19, 1928) is an American academic administrator. He was the first Asian American to become president of a major higher education institution in the mainland of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
when he became president of
Sacramento City College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...
in 1977. He was awarded with Japan's Order of the Rising Sun award on November 15, 2011 for his contributions to the advancement of
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
studies and the promotion of Japan studies and Japanese culture.


Biography

Fujimoto was born in 1928 in
National City, California National City is a city located in the South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the ...
of parents Morizo (
Issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...
from
Hiroshima, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...
) and Emi (
Nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generation, ...
born in Glendale, California). When Fujimoto was 13, he was evacuated from
Encinitas, California Encinitas ( Spanish for "Small Oaks") is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California. Located within Southern California, it is approximately north of San Diego, between Solana Beach and Carlsbad, and about south ...
along with his parents and siblings and
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
at the
Poston War Relocation Center The Poston Internment Camp, located in Yuma County (now in La Paz County) in southwestern Arizona, was the largest (in terms of area) of the ten American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The sit ...
in Arizona following the signing of Executive Order 9066. Fujimoto and his family were released from Poston in 1945, and they resettled in Encinitas. Following Fujimoto's graduation from high school, he volunteered in the U.S. Army, where he was trained in Counter-Intelligence and served in Japan during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Coming from a farming background, Fujimoto was expected to follow the tradition of oldest son following the patriarch. However, he was released to be the first in his family to pursue a college education and he obtained his A.A. degree at Pasadena City College and his
B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
,
M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...
, and
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
at
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
. Fujimoto's specialty in the
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
carried forth in his life. He taught
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
for 12 years at Venice Gakuen, a private community school at the
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
Japanese Community Center. He worked closely with Los Angeles Unified School District and Culver City Unified School District schools to get credit for Venice Gakuen
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
students to meet the language requirements for the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
institutions. Today, that credit recognition continues to persist for all private
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
learners who pass a credit test. In 1969, Fujimoto was selected as a dean at
Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College (Pierce College or Pierce) is a public community college in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and C ...
in
Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...
. There, he established the
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
as an elective for college credit. He also introduced a course in Man and Humanities in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
. Subsequently, Fujimoto became president of
West Los Angeles College West Los Angeles College (West L.A. College or WLAC) is a public community college in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. It is ac ...
in 1979, where he introduced and taught
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
as a recognized college elective course. He did the same when he became president at Los Angeles Mission College in the San Fernando Valley in 1989. Today, those courses of study in Japanese continue at these colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District. Fujimoto served as president at Los Angeles Mission College for seven years until 1996. From 2002 to 2003, he served as interim superintendent-president of
Imperial Valley College Imperial Valley College is a public community college in Imperial County, California. It was founded in 1962 and enrolls around 7,000 students per year. In April 2022, Lennor M. Johnson, Ed.D., was appointed president of the college. The main cam ...
in
Imperial County, California Imperial County is a county on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, making it the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat is El Centro. Imperial is the m ...
. While designing the
Japanese language is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been ...
curriculum and humanities curriculum, Fujimoto visited various universities as well as the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
in Japan. For 30 years, he served as advisor to Kobe Women's University in Kobe, Japan and also taught at the Language Institute of Japan in
Odawara, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...
, Japan. For 12 years from 1983 to 1995, Fujimoto chaired the Board of Trustees of the
Institute of Buddhist Studies The Institute of Buddhist Studies is a Jodo Shinshu-affiliated seminary and graduate school, located in Berkeley, California. It is a member school of the Graduate Theological Union, also located in Berkeley. Its mission is to provide graduate le ...
, a graduate seminary affiliated with the
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...
-based Graduate Theological Union. Since 1986, Fujimoto has been connected with the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle in Sawtelle, Los Angeles. He orchestrated the merger of the Institute and its language school, Sawtelle Gakuin, and in 2000 became its founding chairman and president, a position that he held until 2005 when he chaired the 80th anniversary of the Institute and Gakuin. Today, he serves as senior advisor to the Institute and Gakuin. In 2007, he authored the book ''Sawtelle: West Los Angeles JapanTown'', a pictorial history of the Sawtelle, Los Angeles Japantown. His younger brother is cinematographer Tak Fujimoto.


Honors

* Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, 2011.


Notes


External links


Recipients of Fall 2011 Decorations

Fujimoto and Webb Receive Fall Decorations
at Rafu Shimpo
A Teacher for Intellectual Wellness – Dr. Jack Fujimoto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujimoto, Jack 1928 births Living people People from National City, California Japanese-American internees American military personnel of Japanese descent American academics of Japanese descent Heads of universities and colleges in the United States UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Pasadena City College alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class