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Poole Gakuin is a Christian organization supporting Poole Gakuin Junior and Senior High Schools, Poole Gakuin college, Poole Gakuin University, and Graduate School of Intercultural Studies. Its governing bodies are made up of Christian leaders, scholars, business people, and alumnae. Poole proceeds into the 21st century with its 135-year history of keeping the Christian spirit alive and healthy. In 1879, a school for girls was founded in Osaka by the Church Mission Society of the Anglican Church based on love and service ideals. Enveloped in the love of God, our campus has nourished the hearts and minds of young women, becoming a pioneer in girls’ education in Japan. The emphasis placed on freedom, cooperation, and self-reliance by the early founders of Poole Gakuin lives on in the Poole Gakuin college and the recently established co-educational University and Graduate School. In June of 2001, the newly built Eleanor chapel and Christian Center opened. Full and part-time chaplains staff the Christian Center and, in cooperation with the Christian Activities Committee, they are responsible for Christian life on the campus. A 15-minute chapel service is held daily, and students are encouraged to attend and to participate. The Christian Center organizes various activities, volunteer services, and fundraisers, including collecting charities at the Christmas chapel service. Poole Gakuin University Located in a residential area of Sakai in southern Osaka Prefecture, the ten-acre campus sits on a hill surrounded by a woodland public park. Facilities include classrooms fitted with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, computer rooms, a library with 101,560 volumes, a gymnasium, athletic fields, a cafeteria, a student center, club offices, and a chapel. Poole has many clubs for students. In addition to the Chorus, the Asian Studies Club, and the Society for Overseas Studies, there are cultural clubs for students interested in art, jazz/folk music, cinema, Braille, outdoor activities, photography, kendo, judo, and other topics. Students who join sports clubs compete in badminton, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, skiing, and Korean karate. Most students commute from nearby communities. The campus is eight minutes by bus from Izumigaoka station on the Nankai/Senboku train line in southern Osaka Prefecture. Rooms are available in a nearby dormitory operated by the prefectural government. The “Center for Intercultural Exchange and Service” develops and coordinates all programs related to international or intercultural studies programs, exchanges, and volunteer projects, both domestic and foreign. Current programs involve study and exchange with Sungkonghoe University (Korea), Guangzhou Normal University (China), Kathmandu University (Nepal), Canon Slade School (Britain), to mention only a few. Other study abroad programs to the U.K., Canada, Australia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, and Indonesia are also available. Domestically, the center operates an outreach program for local public schools involving international students and students who have studied abroad. Thus, “intercultural studies” at Poole embraces study abroad and learning about cultural diversity and difference within all societies. View full university