Matsuda begins his term leading the 50,000-member organization with a pressing task: hiring a new executive director to replace Jon Rider, '63, who left his post on July 2.
"The search for a new director will involve the participation of many alumni,"
Matsuda says.
Carrying out the strategic plan initiated last year under the administration of
outgoing president Judd Kirk, '67, Matsuda said a number of projects need to be
finalized in the upcoming year. They include an Internet connection service, a
career services program, and a plan to work with outside organizations and
agencies for the benefit of the University.
Under a new administrative structure, Matsuda says he will split some of his
duties with 1996-97 President-Elect John Meyer, '68, and incoming
Vice-President Cory Carlson, '81. "This will allow the three of us to focus on
specific areas of the organization," says Matsuda, who was president-elect last
year. "It will also develop continuity for years to come."
Matsuda has served as a trustee of the UWAA's board of trustees since 1992. He
was elected treasurer in 1994 and president-elect last year. He is also a
member of the Multicultural Alumni Partnership. Graduates of the mid-60s may
remember him as a staff writer for The Daily.
Education is his passion, and he has spent his entire career in the field,
starting as a middle school language arts and literature teacher. He spent
three years as a counselor and staff assistant to the assistant vice president
of the UW's Office of Minority Affairs in the 1970s before joining Seattle
Public Schools. He served as a principal and program director before becoming
assistant superintendent of student support services in 1990. The following
year, he was named assistant superintendent for strategic planning, evaluation
and assignment, a position he held until his retirement in 1993.
Matsuda, who also serves on the Asian Directors Coalition, received all of his
higher education at the UW, beginning with a B.A. in education in 1967. He
received a teaching certificate in 1971, his M.A. in educational administration
in 1973, and a Ph.D. in higher education in 1978. A principal credentials
followed in 1981. His wife, Karen, '78, has a nursing degree from the UW.
Also at the June meeting of the UWAA Board of Trustees, Debbie Juntunen, '79,
was named treasurer. The board also named four at-large trustees to three-year
terms: Mindy Mounger Blakeslee, '89; Jon Bridge, '72, '76; Dexter Eng, '68; and
Gary Oertli, '70, '72.
Send a letter to the editor at columns@u.washington.edu.