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Conferment Ceremony, 2014 Japanese Foreign Minister Commendation (September 12th, 2014)
On September 12th a conferment ceremony was held at the Consul General's official residence to award the 2014 Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation to Dr. Laurel Rasplica Rodd, Professor of Japanese and comparative literature at University of Colorado at Boulder. The Consul General expressed his appreciation for Dr. Rodd's long time contribution toward the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and the United States. As just one example he mentioned her contribution to "Voices from Japan", a project which brought Tanka poems written by the victims of Great Japan Earthquake to an American audience. In response, Dr. Rodd said that she felt honored to receive the award and very pleased to know her long time efforts to build a base of Japanese language education and Japanese study in the United States had made a difference. Dr. John Stevenson, Dean of Graduate School at CU Boulder, and Ms. Susan Schmidt, Executive Director of American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) praised Dr. Rodd's achievement as a Japanese teacher and academic. Finally, Mr. Eric Hiraga, the president of Japan America Society of Colorado and a former student of Dr. Rodd, led the guests in a toast before the reception.