| 22nd President of Ottawa University | |
| Term Start: | July 1, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Kevin Eichner |
| Order2: | 11th |
| Title2: | President of Hendrix College |
| Term Start2: | 2014 |
| Term End2: | 2019 |
| Predecessor2: | J. Timothy Cloyd |
| Successor2: | Ellis Arnold III |
| Birth Date: | 9 July 1963 |
| Birth Place: | New York, New York |
| Alma Mater: | Harvard University Princeton University |
| Spouse: | Marjorie Swann |
| Website: | Bill Tsutsui Personal Website |
| Birth Name: | William M. Tsutsui |
William M. Tsutsui is an American academic, author, economic historian, Japanologist, university administrator, and Godzilla expert.[1] [2] He was named President and CEO of Ottawa University, May 3, 2021, and took office July 1, 2021.[3]
Tsutsui was born in New York City and grew up in Bryan, Texas. Tsutsui earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Harvard University. In 1985, he was awarded an A.B. degree in East Asian Studies.[1] Tsutsui earned his Ph.D. in history at Princeton University in 1995.[1] In 1988, Oxford University’s Corpus Christi College, where he was a Marshall Scholar, awarded him a Master of Letters in Modern Japanese History. In 1990, Princeton awarded him an M.A. in history.[1] In 1991-1992, he was a visiting research scholar at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo before returning to Princeton to complete his doctoral dissertation.[4]
Tsutsui served as Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas from 2010 to 2014.[1] He was also Professor in SMU's Clements Department of History. Previously, he had been a faculty member in the History Department at the University of Kansas from 1993 through 2010. At Kansas he served as Acting Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, Founding Executive Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Kansas, Chair of the History Department, and Associate Dean for International Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.[5]
Tsutsui served as president of the Kansas State Historical Society in 2003-2004 and was a member of the board of directors of the Kansas Humanities Council from 2000 to 2006. He chaired the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies and served on the board of the Association for Asian Studies in 2010-2011. He has served on the boards of directors of the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth, the Conway (AR) Area Chamber of Commerce, EIIA, and the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and was a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Japan-America Student Conference and the NCAA Division III Presidents Council. He current serves on the boards of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the Association for Asian Studies, and the U.S.-Japan Council.[6] In May 2020, he was appointed to the Japan-United States Friendship Commission and The U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (CULCON).[7]
In 2020-2021, Tsutsui was the Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard University, where he was affiliated with the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and the Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations.[8] On July 1, 2021, Tsutsui began as President and CEO of Ottawa University, a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution, serving more than 4,000 students through its residential campuses in Ottawa, Kansas, and Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in Overland Park, Kansas; Phoenix, Arizona; Brookfield, Wisconsin; and online.[9]
On November 1, 2013, Hendrix College announced that Tsutsui would become its 11th president beginning in June 2014.[10] [11] Tsutsui's move into the Hendrix College presidency marked a new turn in his career as a scholar and administrator. While he had previously served in positions at a large state university (University of Kansas) and church-affiliated private university (Southern Methodist University), he had never before held a position in a small liberal arts college.
Upon the announcement of his selection as the Hendrix president, Tsutsui commented, “I am deeply honored for the opportunity to serve as President of Hendrix." He went on, "Today, despite the challenges faced by all liberal arts colleges, Hendrix holds an enviable position ... I firmly believe that Hendrix is well prepared for the challenges ahead and I look forward to working with the trustees, faculty, staff, and students to make a real contribution to Hendrix’s future.”[12]
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about William Tsutsui, OCLC/WorldCat encompasses roughly 20+ works in 40+ publications in 2 languages and 1,000+ library holdings.[13]