Scandal-hit Nihon University on June 3 appointed award-winning author Mariko Hayashi, an alumni of the Tokyo-based institution, to head its board to clean up the mess left by her predecessor and other top officials.

Revamping this veritable and massive organization, whose roots date to the Meiji Era (1868-1912), is beyond the ability of any single individual, even someone as widely known and highly skilled in communication as Hayashi.

If she plans to pursue lofty ideals, Hayashi will need to secure support from a wide range of stakeholders by maintaining open and effective communication and paying close attention to the voices of the faculty and students.

Nihon University has weathered a string of scandals in recent years. They include a controversy over a dangerous illegal tackle by its American football team’s linebacker against a rival team’s defenseless quarterback, revelations that its medical faculty gave favorable treatment to children of alumni in entrance examinations and tax evasion accusations against Hidetoshi Tanaka, the former chairman, and other officials.

Common factors behind the scandals stemmed from the “tyrannical” control Tanaka exercised over the university during the 13 years and five terms he served as board chairman, an overall abrogation of responsibility among top officials and the homogeneous and closed nature of the organization, which has no women or outsiders in key posts.

In response to recommendations from outside experts, the university this spring set certain requirements for whoever took over as head of the board of directors and left the choice to a selection committee comprising the president of a private university and business leaders.

The requirements included no involvement in the university’s past management and the appointment of someone with an ability to build close cooperative relations with local communities and other relevant organizations.

After evaluating the candidates, the commitee picked Hayashi, who pledged in a letter and the interview process to manage the university in a manner that places top priority on benefitting the students and appointing women to important posts 

She faces a formidable challenge in reformng the management of Japan’s largest private university, which has 70,000 students and a faculty and staff of 4,000. Lacking any experience in managing a school, Hayashi will need to tackle the tough task of eradicating the long-established culture of complying with requests from higher-ups without question.

Hayashi announced during a news conference she plans to establish a task force comprising experts in a range of fields, such as certified public accountants, lawyers and chief executives of schools. Selecting suitable top aides to support her mission is a matter of considerable urgency.

The new team will need to grasp the environment that governs Japanese universities and commit itself fully to the government’s education policy. This will require mapping out a strategy for responding to the challenges facing the institution.

Hayashi made clear she was aware of the enormity of the task facing her when she said it was not something she could accomplish in her spare time. We hope she will demonstrate a level of commitment that matches her daunting mission.

More than anything else, she will need to hold candid discussions with members of the faculty and staff as well as students. By listening to what they have to say, she should be able to identify the problems that have plagued the university and craft a viable plan to overhaul the organization.

Questions that must be answered in the process include how the former board chairman was able to behave like a despot for so long and what shortcomings were behind the institution’s failed management.

In response to a flurry of scandals that have struck this and other private universities, the education ministry is working on a bill to revise the private school law. The revision will be aimed at ensuring more effective governance and internal oversight by enhancing the powers of boards of trustees, which serve as watchdog bodies to boards of directors.

In a proactive move, in anticipation of the revision to the law, Nihon University is working to have a new management structure in place in July by reshuffling its directors and trustees by the end of June.

The influence of the disgraced former chairman needs to be consigned to the trash bin. The university has an obligation to make clear to society, from which it is selecting new directors and trustees, what kind of discussions take place and what the new members are expected to accomplished as a first step in carving out a new and better future for itself.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 7