Roger Bresnahan (left), acting director of the Asian Studies Center, and Jay Rodman (center), special programs coordinatorfor the Office of International Development, celebrate the installation of the Peace Pole with Hiroo Saionji, MSU alumnus and president of the World Peace Prayer Society.

In early October 2000, MSU planted a Peace Pole in the Frederic Reeve Memorial Garden at the International Center.

The Peace Pole was a gift from Dr. Hiroshi Sasaki and his wife Chika on behalf of the World Peace Prayer Society. Dr. Sasaki, from St. Andrews University in Japan, was a visiting scholar at the Eli Broad College of Business Department of Accounting during the spring 2000 semester.

On the day of the installation, the Peace Pole was visited by Mr. Hiroo Saionji, MBA alumnus and member of the Eli Broad College of Business Alumni Board. Mr. Saionji is also president of the World Peace Prayer Society, the organization which originated the Peace Pole idea. "It is of particular personal joy to me, as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, that this monument of peace will be dedicated at my school, on which I place much pride," Saionji observed.

To date, more than 200,000 Peace Poles have been planted by individuals and organizations in more than 180 countries around the world. They carry the message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth," inscribed on plaques affixed to the pole. MSU's Peace Pole has the message written in both Japanese and English.