Speech at the 118th Anniversary of the Founding of Shanxi University

Teachers, students, alumni, friends:

In May with the flowers in bloom, we welcome the 118th anniversary of the founding of Shanxi University. On this occasion, on behalf of the university we extend our greetings to teachers and students at the university and to alumni all over the world, and express our heartfelt gratitude to friends from all walks of life who have long been concerned about and supported the reform and development of Shanxi University.

At the beginning of 2020, the sudden novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic hit China and the world. For several months now, Shanxi University has ensured that teaching and scientific research continued to operate in an orderly manner and helped prevent and control the epidemic in Shanxi province. Through the joint efforts of teachers and students throughout the university, we have had no infected cases on campus, as well as uninterrupted teaching and scientific research.

The faculty and students of Shanxi University has always had a strong love for China and the alma mater. Looking back, the century-old Shanxi University has always regarded "meeting the needs of the country" as its spiritual core. In 2019, the university held a series of activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of People’s Republic of China and completed event hosting and volunteer services for the second National Youth Games, which greatly inspired the patriotic enthusiasm of the university’s teachers and students. During the pandemic period, the university undertook three research projects for Shanxi province, themed around COVID-19 prevention and control. More than 1,200 students volunteered for epidemic prevention and control work in the rural communities of Shanxi. Alumni associations in Beijing and Zhejiang province, as well as many alumni, donated anti-epidemic medical materials to the university, showing their concern and gratitude to their alma mater.

The faculty and students of Shanxi University has always had fortitude in perseverance and self-improvement. Facing the opportunities and challenges brought about by the construction of first-class universities and first-class disciplines, the university has strengthened its leading role in discipline development by furthering strategic cooperation with Peking University and another three partner universities, integrating discipline resources and developing disciplines with unique characteristics. In the meantime, Shanxi University has built superior physics disciplines and philosophical disciplines, carried out business matchmaking with the optoelectronic information sector and cultural tourism industry -- and has established a gathering place for top innovative talent in the optoelectronic information field in China.

The faculty and students of Shanxi University has always had the courage to be innovative and enterprising. The university has insisted on reform to solve the obstacles in the education system and its mechanisms. Over the past year, the university implemented a mentor system and class head teacher system among undergraduate freshpeople and improved the system for senior title teachers participating in undergraduate teaching. The university pioneered in the reform of the management post staff system and promoted reform of the professional post title evaluation.

It has also encouraged scientific research and innovation and undertaken major scientific research projects, such as national key research and development plans -- with technological achievements in big data, electronics information technology, new eco-friendly materials and modern agriculture fields having been successfully commercialized and utilized.

Moreover, the faculty and students of Shanxi University has always had a down-to-earth and pragmatic attitude. Over the past year, the university have formulated and completed 25 education and management systems and handled 419 affairs, which has significantly improved the sense of satisfaction of our teachers and students. The university has formed an academic governance system composed of academic committees, special committees and sub-academic committees, which provides a solid institutional guarantee for the implementation of professors’ scholarship. A harmonious and stable campus atmosphere has also been created at the university, with the construction of a new campus advanced, resource allocation optimized and the campus culture boosted.

2020 is a crucial year for Shanxi University. Faced with various opportunities, the university has clarified 32 key tasks in eight areas to be implemented in the current year. Shanxi University will seize development opportunities such as the "1331 Project" and C9 League cooperation. It will implement the Party's education policies and the fundamental mission of morality education. It will comprehensively strengthen discipline and major course construction, improve the quality of education and scientific research and comprehensively strengthen the management system -- so as to achieve breakthroughs in the construction of first-class universities and first-class disciplines.

Party secretary: Fu Huiming

President: Huang Guitian

May 8, 2020