Professor Morimitsu Inaba first arrived in Canada from Japan in 1963 to pursue a master’s degree political economy at the University of Western Ontario. He had just completed his law degree at Nihon University and was awarded a scholarship to study in Canada. He later applied for doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, and was granted an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, in addition to a number of research assistantships. He recalls with great fondness his graduate student life in the latter half of the 1960s, in particular the many garden parties at Massey College, “with cherry brandy glass in my hands and listening to Robertson Davies’ speeches delivered on special occasions.”
Inaba went on to work at the Mitsubishi Research Institute, the Asian Development Bank and Oxford University before returning to Japan to teach at Nihon University, from which he retired in 2016. But he never forgot how helpful the support he received was in the early stages of his career. Inaba saw his retirement as an opportune time to express his deep gratitude to the University of Toronto and Canada, and made a gift to the Department of Political Science to support doctoral scholarships.
Inaba believes that political science research can play an important role in devising successful and sustainable approaches to economic development. “We now recognize that economic policy prescriptions are not enough to promote the economic development of countries, and that we need to understand the institutional framework of developing countries. This is one reason why I established a doctoral fellowship that supports graduate students who are researching the political economy of development.”
Photo courtesy of Morimitsu Inaba
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The Ram and Sushma Sandal Award - Dr. Shaifali Sandal moved to Canada as a teenager with her family in 2000. Shortly after arriving in Toronto, she received a full scholarship to study biological chemistry. The opportunity changed her life, she said. “We were so new to Canada and very much financially in need. The transition was difficult at first, but I… Read more ›
Lupina Foundation Gift Supports New Research - When we hear the word innovation, it’s tempting to equate it with entrepreneurship and start-up companies. But Professor Dan Breznitz, the Munk Chair of Innovation Studies, points out that innovation is significantly more complex than this. For instance, how can inventions and ideas be turned into economic growth so that all citizens will prosper? As… Read more ›
The Dorothy Shoichet Women Faculty Science Award of Excellence - Molly Shoichet joined the University of Toronto in 1995, bringing a wealth of industry experience and expertise in the study of polymers—materials that promote healing in the body—and their use for drug delivery and regeneration. Shoichet holds the Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering. In 2014, she was awarded U of T’s highest distinction, University… Read more ›
The Lorne Tepperman Prize in Public Sociology - Professor Lorne Tepperman (BA 1965), former chair of U of T’s Department of Sociology, has set up a prize to shine a spotlight on exceptional undergraduate student research. The $1,000 prize will be awarded to the undergraduate who submits the best paper on a topic of social significance in Canada. The winner will be coached… Read more ›
Government of Japan Supports Japanese Studies - Japan has contributed US$5 million to the University of Toronto to establish an endowed chair in Japanese politics and global affairs, and to launch the Centre for the Study of Global Japan at the Munk School of Global Affairs. The University of Toronto is the first Canadian university to receive such support from the Japanese… Read more ›
Forum Research Collaborates with Political Science - Political science students will now have highly coveted access to key political and social data, thanks to the donation of a collection of 33 datasets from Forum Research and its library of 2016 municipal, provincial and federal political polls. Headed by Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, a political science alumnus, Forum Research has become one of Canada’s… Read more ›
