Leaders' message

Dear fellow Wharton alumni in Japan,

On behalf of the board of directors, we sincerely welcome all of you to the Wharton Club of Japan (the “Club”).

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the world's first collegiate business school, which was the brainchild of Joseph Wharton, a Philadelphia entrepreneur, who wrote a letter urging the University of Pennsylvania to create a school to prepare young men to grasp and take control of the complex economy that was unfolding.

To our amazement, one of the first five graduates of the Wharton School in 1884 was Shiro Shiba, a displaced and defeated Japanese samurai from Aizu who, at the age of 32, became a member of the Wharton’s first graduating class. Shiba later returned to Japan for a career in the Japanese parliament.

Since then, so many young persons with promising futures have attended Wharton. The number of the alumni currently living in Japan is around 1,200, representing graduates from various programs - undergraduate, MBA, PhD, and Advanced Management Program. This number makes the Club the second largest Wharton alumni community outside of the US.

Our Board is strongly committed to making the Club successful and enhancing the value of the Wharton brand in Japan. The Board members, each having different background and expertise, contribute their time and energy to organize informative/educational events and programs through which the Club members can network and foster friendships.

Your participations and input are highly valued as they are the key to our community’s success. Not only are you encouraged to attend the events, but also you are welcome to get actively involved in planning and organizing events as we value your ideas and initiatives.

We are always grateful for the membership dues and gifts you give to the Club. The membership dues in particular provide the financial basis to our community - delivering membership services and hosting events. As such, we deeply appreciate your membership.

We look forward to seeing you at many of our events in coming months and getting to know you better.

Best regards,