About the Project

Learn how the CSU Nisei Diploma Project came about and how an estimated 250 Japanese Americans who were once CSU students were recognized with an honorary Bachelor of Humane Letters degree.

In 1942, an estimated 250 Japanese American students were forced to leave their CSU campuses and relocated to internment camps during World War II under federal Executive Order 9066.

On September 23, 2009, the CSU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to honor the academic intentions of these students by awarding them Special Honorary Bachelor of Humane Letters degrees. This is the CSU Nisei Diploma Project.

“The internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II represents the worst of a nation driven by fear and prejudice,” said then-California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed in a statement.

“By issuing honorary degrees, we hope to achieve a small right in the face of such grave wrongs.”

The CSU worked closely with Assembly Member Warren Furutani, author of Assembly Bill 37, various organizations in the Japanese American community, and the six CSU campuses where historical documents estimate that 250 Japanese Americans were enrolled in spring 1942.

CSU campuses honored the former students at their regular spring commencement ceremonies in 2010 or at special ceremonies coinciding with commencements.

Through these efforts, the California State University strived to:

• Help heal the wounds of the injustice suffered by Japanese Americans living in California during World War II;
• Identify former students enrolled in the CSU whose college education was disrupted due to federal Executive Order 9066;
• Honor the academic intentions of the Japanese American students enrolled in the CSU;
• Present an honorary degree to the former students or their families in a meaningful way at campus ceremonies; and
• Welcome these former students back to the CSU.
  

For more information about the Nisei Diploma Project, please contact Alison Wrynn.