Anderson, Ronald, September 22, 1980

Ronald Anderson (1908-1985) was born in Seattle, Washington. After elementary school he moved to California and stayed there to receive both his bachelor’s and master’s from Stanford University. He went on to hold many teaching positions including teaching Americans about Japan and its culture. During the occupation, in 1946, he worked as the Chief Civil Education and Information Officer which allowed him to oversee the schools and educators in Kyoto. The American Military Occupation reformed Japan’s education system under Anderson. After leaving Japan in 1949, Anderson earned his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley while becoming the secretary at the Association of Asian Studies for eight years at the University of Michigan. In 1960, he was the Acting Director of the Asian Studies Program at the University of Hawaii. Anderson created the Teacher Exchange Program of the East West Center where teachers from Asia and the U.S. met to exchange their culture’s values and ideas. Anderson passed away in 1985 in Hawaii.