大学案内｜ABOUT MDU

A cherry blossom party is held every spring at Matsumoto Dental University (MDU). This year’s event took place on Sunday, April 29th, with the campus courtyard as main venue. The double-flowered cherry blossoms were almost in full flower on this fine, party day. The campus was packed with approximately 3,000 people — guests and local residents, who enjoyed looking at the beautiful cherry blossoms.

A ceremony to unveil a plate bearing the names of all of the people who donated for the construction of the Alumni Building was held at Campus Inn on Sunday, April 29th. Previously, on Sunday, March 4th, the MDU Alumni Association held an extraordinary general meeting to discuss a proposal to present an alumni building to MDU for use as an administration center for Campus Inn, as part of their support to MDU. All of those present at the meeting agreed to raise a donation of ¥150 million to pay for the construction of the building.

At the ceremony, Mr. Tadashi Yagasaki, the chair of the Alumni Association, presented a document containing details of the donation to Mr. Yasushi Yagasaki, the chair of MDU’s board of directors, and two nameplates were unveiled. These were the building nameplate at the front of the alumni building, and a plate bearing the names of more than 3,800 alumni from the 1st to the 30th academic years, on the wall of the building.

Matsumoto Dental University Alumni Association held their 28th general meeting in room 101 in Campus Inn on Sunday, April 29th. About 70 alumni members arrived from all over Japan to attend the meeting where they debated enthusiastically.

The Japan Prosthodontic Society held their 116th meeting in Kobe Portopia Hotel in Kobe from Friday 18th to Sunday 20th May. This meeting was also the 5th congressof the Asian Academy of Prosthodontics. Many clinicians and researchers from other countries in Asia also attended. Mr. Shinya Mizogami, a third-year MDU postgraduate school student on the Oral and Maxillofacial Biology Course delivered a lecture called “The effect of mastication differences on mandibular movement”.

The first FD workshop for the academic year 2007 took place at Hotaka View Hotel in Azumino on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May. The themes of the workshop were “creation of an educational assessment system appropriate for the times” and “effective coaching”. The lecturers of the second-year students had discussions in groups and with all of the participants and learned about lectures and training.

The 6th Matsumoto Bone Forum was held in the Jonendake Room of the 30th Anniversary Building. As the content of the Matsumoto Bone Forum expands, more and more people are attending. This year more than eighty people were present at the forum. They discussed the various basic and clinical research programs which were announced. The aim of this forum is to promote research projects into bone in Matsumoto by providing opportunities for bone researchers from diverse fields including dentistry, orthopedics, internal medicine and agricultural science to meet together.

Cases of measles infections in Tokyo and the surrounding area are reported every day. Some universities in Tokyo have been forced to suspend classes in efforts to halt the contagion. The spread of measles is also a worry in Nagano Prefecture. MDU’s School Administration Section has informed the students that if they are, or think they are, infected with measles (because of symptoms such as a temperature), they should report to the Student Section. As a precautionary measure, MDU checked whether students were vaccinated as children and recommended to those students at risk that they should be vaccinated at MDU’s medical clinic.