Four Years Later: Soka University Prepares for First Commencement, May 22.

(From AScribe)

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. -- Four years ago 120 students from 18 states and 18 countries embarked upon a pioneering adventure as the first class of Soka University, Aliso Viejo, a new private, non-profit liberal arts college in Southern California founded upon the Buddhist principles of peace, human rights and the sanctity of life. SUA was the first new liberal arts college to open with a full campus (103-acres, 18 buildings) in California in over 25 years. From the first day, SUA offered a non-sectarian curriculum open to students of all nationalities and beliefs. Students could take emphasis areas in Humanities, International Studies or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The members of the Class of 2005 were the first students to experience SUA's 9:1 student/faculty ratio and average class size of 16. They were also the first to receive laptops upon entrance so that there would be no technology "have nots" on campus.

They were the first to survive "Core I" as they spent their first Block (three weeks of one subject) reading the great philosophers of both Eastern and Western civilization. They were the first to use the new biology, chemistry and physics labs during regular terms (14 weeks of four classes.) They all studied a non-native language and then went abroad for a semester during their junior year as they launched SUA's required Study Abroad program. They formed the first Learning Clusters to research solutions to real-world problems, and they tackled the first Senior ...