KEELE, England -- The university here occupies the estate that used to belong to the aristocratic Sneyd family, in earlier centuries landowners who in the 19th century became industrialists. A magnificent hall, dating from 1580 and still in use, shares its setting nowadays with square university buildings of soft blue Staffordshire stone, compatible with that of the chapel of the hall.
In 1990, on the initiative of visiting professor Yoshikazu Uehata, links were established between Keele University and the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies. These were followed by similar exchange programs with Daito Bunka University. Robin Bell, English language tutor at the university, is now director of the programs that bring students of Kyoto to Keele in the spring, and Daito Bunka students here in the summer.
Interestingly, Robin is not English but an American who married an Englishman in London. The couple lived and worked in Kyoto, and both are familiar with Japan and Japanese students.