Biography
Hiroko Harada, recipient of the Foreign Ministry’s Commendation for FY 2022 from the
Japanese Government, is Professor and Coordinator of the Japanese Program and Director
of Montgomery Dickson Center for Japanese Language and Culture. She is the author
of Aspects of Post-War German and Japanese Drama: Reflections of War, Guilt, and Responsibility
(2000). She also a co-author of Monty’s Kakehashi (bridge) to Tomorrow (2014), an online textbook for advanced Japanese learners. She has translated
two books and numerous materials related to the Battle of Attu (the battle between
Japanese and American Armies during World War II) for the National Park Service and U.S. Army Center of Military History (2009-2018). She is currently working
on Disaster Preparedness Drill Book, collaborating with our partner university, Iwate
University. Harada has contributed to the establishment of two exchange programs with
Hokkaido University of Education and Iwate University, co-established the UAA-HUE
Internship Program, and cofounded Alaska Japanese Speech Contest and Alaska Association
of Teachers of Japanese, which will mark the 16 the contest this past spring (2019),
and together launched the Alaska Japanese Language Pedagogy Workshop. Harada also
organized numeral cultural and educational events, established a friendship relationship
with Rikuzentakata-city. She has created a Japanese Tea Room, “Monty’s Room,” on campus,
with a Rasmuson Foundation Grant, for students to experience Japanese culture first
hand. For the most recent event she received an Alaska Humanities Forum Grant to invited
two 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. She is a recipient of the 2015 American Association
of Teachers of Japanese Teacher Award, and Pacific Northwest Council for Languages
(PNCFL)'s 2021 Ray Verzasconi Northwest Postsecondary Educator of the Year award.
