College of the Canyons (COC), a public community college in Southern California, is excited to continue its partnership with Kansai University of International Studies (KUINS), located in Kobe, Japan. This partnership was launched with support from the Japanese government in 2024. COC and KUINS co-applied for, and received, a five-year grant (the term for which concludes in 2029) to run a series of delegation visits between the USA and Japan. In February and March of each year, a group of about 10 Japanese students and faculty members travel from Kobe to the Santa Clarita Valley, and in return, a group of roughly 4 American students and a faculty chaperone go from Santa Clarita to Japan. The focus of these delegation visits varies slightly from year-to-year, but the main areas of interest have been Public Safety and Hospitality.
Japan expects to host a series of major events in the coming years, such as the Formula One World Championship in May 2025, and has hosted significant international gatherings in the last few years, such as the Olympics in 2021 (originally scheduled for 2020). This has made expertise in public safety, hospitality, and related fields, of even more critical importance than usual. That is where this program between COC and KUINS comes in. By collaborating on these delegation exchanges, these esteemed institutions are able to share ideas and best practices in these fields, benefiting both Japan and the United States. Notably, the Los Angeles area will be hosting the Olympics in just 4 short years, and so institutions like COC can benefit from learning from their Japanese peers about what worked and what could be improved on. This initiative was spearheaded on the USA side by COC’s Dean of International Affairs & Global Engagement, Dr. Jia-Yi Cheng-Levine, and the Administration of Justice Department Chair, Professor Larry Alvarez.