CSU Nisei Project Underway at Cal Poly

Cal Poly's 1940 baseball team included Japanese Americans
Photo courtesy University Archives

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly is looking for Japanese American alumni who had their education interrupted by relocation to internment camps during World War II.

Cal Poly is one of six California State University campuses that had students who were removed from their programs and interned during WWII.

The university has identified some 30 former students who are eligible to receive an honorary degree, and is reaching out to the former students and their families to make them aware of this opportunity.

Japanese-American Cal Poly alumni who were interned during World War II will receive honorary bachelor’s degrees during a special commencement ceremony Monday, June 7 at 11 a.m. Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker will confer the degrees.

The CSU Board of Trustees unanimously voted at its September 23, 2009, meeting to award Special Honorary Bachelor of Humane Letters degrees to CSU students of Japanese ancestry whose college educations were disrupted due to their forced removal from the west coast and incarceration during World War II.

In 1942, an estimated 250 Japanese American students were forcibly removed from CSU campuses and relocated to internment camps. The project takes its name from the Japanese term Nisei, which is used in countries in North America, and Australia to for children born to Japanese immigrants in their new country.

If you are Japanese American and your collegiate studies at a CSU were interrupted in 1941-42, you may apply for an honorary degree on the CSU Nisei Web site. Visit the CSU Nisei Web site for more details on eligibility for an honorary degree. Or you can print out the PDF version of the form and mail it to the CSU Office of Special Projects: 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, CA 90802.

CSU campuses will honor the former students at their regular commencement ceremonies in the spring; or at special ceremonies coinciding with commencements. Since many of the recipients are now in their 80s and 90s, special accommodations may be made through special presentations held by the campuses.

"The internment of Japanese-Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II represents the worst of a nation driven by fear and prejudice," California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed said in a statement. "By issuing honorary degrees, we hope to achieve a small right in the face of such grave wrongs."