Sichuan University

Introduction

Sichuan University is one of China’s key universities under the direct supervision of Ministry of Education. Located in West China, it is identified as a key high-level comprehensive research university under Project 985 and Project 211. The CPC Committee Secretary of the University is Professor Yang Quanming, and the President is Professor Xie Heping. Sichuan University is located in downtown of Chengdu, a famous historic and cultural city known as “the land of abundance”. It consists of three campuses of Wangjiang, Huaxi and Jiang'an, and covers an area of 7050 mu (470 hectares) with a floor area of 308 hectares. The University, with its favorable environment and beautiful scenery, is a wonderful place for learning and researching . Sichuan University is actually the product of a series of mergers involving 3 national universities: the former Sichuan University, the former Chengdu University of Science and Technology, and the former West China University of Medical Sciences. The former Sichuan University began as the Sichuan Chinese and Western School, established by Lu Chuanlin, Governor of Sichuan, on the orders of Emperor Guangxu. It is the earliest higher education institute in southwest China. The former Chengdu University of Science and Technology was one of the earliest multidisciplinary universities of engineering to be established during the restructuring of colleges and universities. The former West China University of Medical Sciences originated from West China Union University which was established by western Christian groups in Chengdu in 1910. It was not only one of the first western-style universities, but also one of the first universities to offer postgraduate programs in China. In 1994, the former Sichuan University and the former Chengdu University of Science and Technology merged into Sichuan United University, and in 1998, it was renamed as Sichuan University in. CPC and state leaders including Jiang Zemin and Li Peng wrote inscriptions and gave their best wishes on the merger of the two universities. In 2000, Sichuan University and the former West China University of Medical Sciences merged and formed the new Sichuan University. “Sichuan University is a pioneer in the institutional reform of higher education as one of the first universities being reformed and has made historic contributions to the reforms of higher education in China.”, Li Lanqing, the former Vice Premier said. During the May 12th Wenchuan earthquake relief, CPC and state leaders including Wu Bangguo and Wen Jiabao paid visits to Sichuan University. Sichuan University enjoys a long tradition in education and boasts many renowned scholars. Over the past century, the University has attracted masters such as historian Gu Jiegang, philosopher Feng Youlan, writer Li Jieren, esthetician Zhu Guangqian, physicist Wu Dayou, biologist Tong Dizhou, botanist Fang Wenpei, public health expert C. C. Chen, and mathematician Ke Zhao. In its history, the University has been administered by Wu Yuzhang and Zhang Lan. It has also graduated many famous people, including: Zhu De, one of the founding fathers of the People’s Republic of China; Yang Shangkun, former Chairman of China; Guo Moruo and Ba Jin, renowned writers; as well as national heroes Jiang Zhujun and Mao Yingcai. Over 50 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering are alumni of Sichuan University, and among the 50 “Sichuan Cultural Celebrities” in 2001, 36 were alumni of Sichuan University. Sichuan University has a comprehensive range of disciplines covering 12 categories, namely literature, science, engineering, medicine, economy, management, law, history, philosophy, agriculture, education and art. It consists of 31 colleges, including a postgraduate college and an overseas education college. Sichuan University has 44 primary disciplines which offer doctor degrees. Besides, the University offers 349 doctoral programs, 443 master programs, 32 professional master’s programs, 133 undergraduate programs, and 37 post-doctoral research stations. It also has 46 national key disciplines and 4 national key cultivated disciplines. Sichuan University gathers many prominent scholars and professors. At the end of 2014, there are about 5049 full-time teachers, 1493 of whom have senior titles, 14 members of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, 6 Outstanding Professors, 61 experts from the 1000-elite Program, 38 professors of ChangJiang Scholars Program,13 Chair Professors, 9 Chief Scientists of 973 Project, 43 awardees of Young Scientists Fund and 12 awardees of National Award for Distinguished Teachers. In its long history of practicing education, Sichuan University has formed a rich culture and solid foundation of education. The motto of the university is: the ocean is exclusive because it embraces hundreds of rivers, and its spirit is embodied in the following four words: preciseness, diligence, truth-seeking and innovation. In recent years, in order to achieve the goal of constructing a first-class comprehensive research-oriented university, the school has formulated the modern concept of higher education in “putting people first, admiring scholarship and pursuing excellence”. It has formed a new management mechanism, in which teachers are the main body of education, students as center of education, with the management focus on colleges and departments. The university is focused on providing “elite education, with quality as the main proviso, taking an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to research and teaching”. The provision of this kind of education will be to “cultivate elites with profound humanity, solid expertise, strong sense of innovation and broad international sight”. There are over 40,000 undergraduate students, over 20,000 master and PhD candidatesand more than 2500 foreign students and students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Since 2003, the University has been honored with 25 National Teaching Achievement Awards and 33 National Excellent Courses. 23 doctor students’ dissertations have been selected amongst the top 100 Excellent Doctor Students Dissertations. Sichuan University has been strong in science and research and making remarkable achievements over the years. It has 13 national key laboratories and engineering centers, 11 key laboratories and 6engineering research centers under the supervision of Ministry of Education, and 3 key laboratories under the supervision of Ministry of Health. It also has 9 national centers for talent training, scientific research and teaching, 8 National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Centers, 1 National Base of Culture-Oriented Quality Education for College Students, 4 key National Research Bases for Philosophy and Social Sciences, 2 National Drug Clinical Experimental Institutes, 1 National Drug Clinical Research Base. Since 2005, the University has won 34 awards out of three national major award categories for science and technology. In 2014, the research fund of the University reached 1.8 billion Yuan, the number of papers published ranked 7th in China, and the number of SCI articles ranked 6th. In humanities and social sciences, several major books in culture was compiled,edited and published by experts of the University, including: a Chinese Dictionary, The Complete Works of Song Dynasty, A History of Chinese Daoism, The Confucianism. In recent years, the research results of 2 professors have been selected into the first and second top works of Selected works of the China National Fund for Social Sciences, the total number of works being selected ranking 1st together with another university. Sichuan University has actively promoted both national and regional development of economy and society, and its capacity to contribute to the society is becoming stronger. The University is one of the 6 national technology transferring centers and one of China’s 10 pilot universities in intellectual property rights protection. The Science and Technology Park of Sichuan University is one of the first 15 national college science and technology trial parks approved by the state and has incubated over 50 science and technology enterprises including one listed company. In recent years, the University has established cooperative relations in production, education and research with over 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities including Jiangsu, Sichuan, Tibet, and Xinjiang. Similarly the University has developed relationships with over five thousandenterprises and established about onehundred high-level university-enterprise platforms in production, education and research. It has undertaken more than 10000projects in technological development and technological restructuring for over 1000 enterprises in China. A series of major scientific and technological works have become leading technologies in related industries. Sichuan University has established contacts and cooperative relationships with over 216 renowned colleges and universities as well as research institutes from 32 countries and regions. It has established all-dimensional, multi-layer and multi-form joint education programs with 209famous universities from over 30 countries including United States and Australia and some European countries. The University has set up Jiuzhaigou International Study Center for Ecology, Environment and Sustainability together with University of California and University of Washington, Sino-US Institute for University Design with Arizona State University, Sino-German Joint Center for Energy Research with Clausthal University of Technology, Western China Poverty-Reduction Research Center with the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, State Council Leading Group Office of Western China Development, UNDP and the World Bank, Sichuan Post-Disaster Reconstruction Support and Research Center with Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The university collect over 6 million volumes of books, and the Humanity Museum houses over 54,000 cultural relics, the Natural Museum, over 860,000 pieces of fauna and flora specimen, and the Archives and History Exhibition Center, over 9000 volumes of historic archives. The university also has gymnasiums equipped with complete and advanced facilities, and other organizations including Campus Network, Analytical and Testing Center, Modern Education Technological Center, Intensive Language Training Center and Adult Education College and Distance Learning College.