September 4, 2024

Susan Schmidt Wins America-Japan Society’s Kentaro Kaneko Award

SWET is delighted to share the news published in the Japan Times that Susie Schmidt has received the Kentaro Kaneko Award, sponsored by the American-Japan Society for her "work to promote Japanese-language education in the United States as well as via exchange programs in higher education." Schmidt has been a director and secretary-general of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese for many years, “greatly influencing Japanese-language education and higher education exchanges between Japan and the U.S.  . . . She has also promoted publications and teaching materials for the Japanese-language education community and expanded professional development opportunities for teachers,” says the JT.

As a founding member of SWET (1980) and one of the main figures who led its activities and publications in the 1980s and 1990s, Schmidt shepherded the publication of SWET’s thrice-yearly SWET Newsletter and organized countless lectures, workshops, and other events that made it a dynamic and magnetic organization during those pre-Internet, pre-digital publishing years. We would not be where we are today without her!

Congratulations, Susie! We celebrate you!