Image of TUJ Kyoto’s Diamond Hall which will open in January 2025.
The Japan campus of Temple University (TUJ) has unveiled key appointments for its new Kyoto location set to open in January 2025. These appointments reflect TUJ’s strong commitment to addressing student needs across Japan and solidifying its position as a leading international academic institution beyond Tokyo. To elevate the student experience, the university has selected two experienced leaders with deep academic backgrounds and strong ties to Kyoto and the Kansai region in western Japan.
Katsumi Kishida, Executive Director of TUJ Kyoto
Kishida has over 15 years of experience in international education, providing strategic vision, leadership, and crisis management. She is an expert in international student mobility and has held multiple leadership positions with NAFSA : Association of International Educators. Prior to TUJ, she was the director of international student services at Seton Hall University in New Jersey (U.S.A.), managing a team and overseeing international student programs including education abroad institutional partnerships. She also served as the associate director of international programs at Kean University and held roles at Rutgers University as the assistant director of programming and international student adviser. Kishida holds a master of arts in international education development with a concentration in international education policy from Columbia University and a bachelor of arts in international relations, international cooperation, and development from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.
Yoneyuki Sugita, Executive Director of Strategic Relationships
Sugita is a seasoned scholar with extensive academic experience in English, Japanese studies, and U.S.-Japan relations. He has previously served as a senior trade policy adviser at the British Embassy in Japan. He was a professor at Osaka University and Osaka University of Foreign Studies and also taught courses at other Japanese universities, including Doshisha University, Ritsumeikan University, Kansai University, Kobe University and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. Sugita holds a doctoral degree in U.S. history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in diplomatic history from Hitotsubashi University.
Building on these appointments, Assistant Dean William Swinton will oversee a new Master of Science degree in Communication Management in Kyoto, starting in August 2025. This hybrid master’s degree, tailored for entry and mid-level professionals, can be completed in one year. TUJ will blend Temple University’s prestigious Klein College of Media and Communication with the vibrant culture of Japan in Kyoto to offer this unique program.
TUJ Kyoto will enable new undergraduate students to commence their university studies in the Kansai region. It will also welcome all TUJ undergraduate students from the Tokyo campus and visiting students from abroad who wish to study in Kyoto for a semester or two. In close collaboration with TUJ in Tokyo and Temple’s main campus in Philadelphia, TUJ Kyoto will help fulfill Temple’s truly international mission of equipping students to thrive in an interconnected world through innovative teaching, exceptional care, and rewarding opportunities in a multicultural setting. It will also strengthen Temple University’s presence in the Kansai region by cultivating new partnerships with educational institutions, businesses, local governments and other key stakeholders.
For over 40 years, TUJ has excelled in building bridges between cultures and advancing the globalization of higher education in Japan. TUJ is the largest and longest-running branch campus of a foreign university in Japan and currently hosts students from 70 different countries. The Japan campus is the flagship Asian operation of Temple University in Pennsylvania, a leading public university with more than 360,000 living alumni worldwide.
At TUJ, undergraduate enrollment reached a record high of nearly 2,250 students in the spring 2024 semester. In addition to the undergraduate and graduate school programs, the university also offers non-degree programs such as Continuing Education, Corporate Education and the Academic English Program to nearly 2,000 learners on an annual basis to serve a wide range of local community needs. TUJ was recognized by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and was officially designated as a Foreign University Branch in 2005.
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- Temple University Japan Boosts Number of Full-Time Faculty Members by Over 75% Since 2022 (February 8, 2024)