After 35-year Office of Student Affairs Director Fran Walker retired this spring, newcomer Hikaru Kozuma has accepted the position.
Kozuma, originally from New York City and a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, has directed residential programs at both Middlebury and Columbia University.
During his first year in office, Kozuma said he plans to familiarize himself with the needs and wants of Penn’s student body.
The OSA is responsible for all student activities and governance, University Life leadership programs and campus-wide special events.
“What I’m really trying get a sense of is the Penn culture,” and then find ways to enhance its traditions, Kozuma said.
“Granted, it’s a little bit weird,” he continued, “I bought a sponge to remind me that what I’m going to do this year is be a sponge.”
Kozuma’s biggest challenge will be that Fran Walker, his predecessor, had held the position for so long, according to OSA Associate Director of Programs Katie Hanlon.
“I think the best thing he can do is make the position his own and not just be Fran 2.0,” she added, explaining that the position has been restructured, including a name change for the office and Kozuma’s position.
The department used to be called the Office of Student Life, and Walker’s title was Director. Kozuma, however, will be known as the Executive Director of OSA.
Under new leadership, OSA will reach out to students previously under-involved in student life.
But OSA’s over-arching goal in the next few years will be to become a resource for undergraduates as well as graduate students, Hanlon explained.
Undergraduate Assembly president Matt Amalfitano said he has high expectations for OSA’s new management.
He added, “OSA needs to take a proactive approach on how to best fund student activities for the next 10 to 20 years,” Amalfitano said.
Other than funding, he continued, OSA can assist student groups with elements like space on campus, a web presence and leadership resources, adding that OSA can “play a huge role in connecting student organizations that weren’t previously connected.”
Penn’s student population is one of the “top reasons that brought me [to Penn],” Kozuma said.
“I love working with students and in higher education, and I am really looking forward to my time here at Penn,” he said.
