In 1911, Vice Minister of Education Masataro Sawayanagi, moved to Sendai to become Tohoku University’s first president. Sawayanagi firmly believed that academic research should be integrated with education. He also believed that a university should not discriminate based on class or gender. "In the more than 100 years since Tohoku University was founded in 1907, the constant goal has been to become one of the world's great research universities. As the 21st President of this university I pledge to continue this pursuit of international excellence in education. We take great pride in the past successes of our students and faculty. Their innovations in science and engineering have helped make the world a better place in which to live. We learned through the 3-11-11 disaster that there is so much more we can do to develop new technologies to make the entire world safer and more environmentally friendly. At the same time, while medical support is critical in the aftermath of a disaster, we also know that the arts give us the medium of expression in which to heal the human heart. Thus at Tohoku University we are committed to graduating students with a well rounded, complete education."