NWNU

General Introduction [The predecessor of NWNU is The National Beiping Normal University, which grew out of The Normal School of The Metropolitan University founded in 1902. After the “July 7 Incident” of 1937, Beiping Normal University was combined with National Beiping University and BeiYang Engineering Institute moving westward as the Northwest Union University, and was reconstructed itself as a normal institute under it. The normal institute became independent as the National Northwest Normal Institute in 1939 and moved to Lanzhou City in 1941. Before 1958, the National Northwest Normal Institute was one of the six key higher normal institutes directly under the Ministry of Education, then under the administration of Gansu Province thereafter, renamed as Gansu Normal University, but resumed its name as Northwest Normal Institute in 1981, finally renamed as the Northwest Normal University in 1988 until now. In 1985, the university has set up “The Northwest Ethnic Minority Teachers Training Center” directly under the Ministry of Education, with the administrative system featuring “Two Tablets, One Leading Board”. Presently the University is key university of Gansu Province, and one of the 14 universities in Western area strongly backed by the Ministry of Education.The University has set up 18 colleges, 46 departments, 2 teaching departments, 72 teaching and research centers (institutes), 35 labs (experimental centers), 1 national key research base of humanities and social sciences, 1 province-and-ministry-joint-established key lab under the Ministry of Education, 1 provincial-level key lab, 16 provincial-level key disciplines, 20 university-level key disciplines, 5 provincial-level-and-above education bases. Under the commitment of the Ministry of Education, the University has established several organizations such as the Tibetan Teachers Training Center, the Elementary Education Curriculum Reformation Research Center under the Ministry of Education, the National Key Constructing Base of Training Teachers for Vocational Education, the National Base of Training Teachers for Physical Education and Arts, the Computers Donating Center under the Ministry of Education, and there are also several provincial organizations such as Gansu Higher School Teachers Training Center, Gansu Modern Distance Education Center, Gansu Policies and Statutes Training Center for Educational Administrative Cadres. The University is among the first to enjoy the degree-awarding power ratified by the State Council to confer Bachelor degree, Master Degree and Doctorate since 1982. Now there are 5 postdoctoral research centers of Pedagogy, Chinese Language and Literature, Histology, Mathematics and Chemistry, 2 first-grade and 26 second-grade disciplines with Doctorate awarding power, 9 first-grade and 92 second-grade disciplines as well as 4 specialties with Master degree awarding power, and 55 Bachelor’s specialties in the University. The University has established a fairly good academic degrees accreditation system, covering 9 academic fields such as Philosophy, Economics, the Science of Law, Pedagogy, Literature, Histology, Science, Engineering, Management and 25 first-grade disciplines. About 100,000 students have graduated from NWNU since its independence. The enrollment of the University has covered 27 provinces (cities and autonomous regions) and is up to 35,200 students now, among which 3,717 are postgraduates and doctoral candidates, 1,376 are on-the-job postgraduates, 14,420 undergraduates and 15690 adult students. The University boasts a well-organized and high-quality teaching staff of 2467, among which 1,238 are fulltime teachers, 232 professors and research fellows, 484 associate professors and associate research fellows, 203 doctors, 491 postgraduates, 2 academicians, 94 doctoral supervisors, 494 Master students supervisors, 56 enjoying special government allowance ratified by the State Council, 5 young and middle-aged experts of outstanding contribution, 2 winners of the “National Hundreds of Millions of Talents Project”, 106 academic team members (35 at national level and 71 at provincial and ministerial level) of first-grade disciplines, 8 national experts, 19 provincial and ministerial experts, and 70 Gansu “333” “555” Talents of Scientific and Technological Innovations. Prominent professors such as Lizheng, Li Jinxi, Yuan Dunli, Dong Shouyi, Li Jianxun, Hu Guoyu, Lv Sibai, Kong Xianwu, Chang Shuhong, Chenyong, Huangzhou, Pengduo, Guo Jinxi, Cheng Guodong, Xue Qunji, Li Bingde, Jin Baoxiang, Jin Shaoying, Nan Guonong have taught successively in the University.The University also boasts a strong scientific research capability. In recent years, the SCIE-included research papers concerning the basic theory of natural sciences continuously ranked around 50 among the national colleges and universities and within the top 10 among the national normal universities. The social sciences boast several distinctive and superior disciplines such as Western History and Geography, Ethnic Education, Curriculum and Teaching Theories, Ancient Books Systematization and Dunhuang Studies. The University takes the initiative to meet the need of local economic and social development, enhances the research work on the development of applied and soft sciences, and promotes actively the transformation of fruits in scientific research, having obtained lots of representative achievements, profitable economic returns and profound social effects. The University has conducted international exchanges and cooperative studies extensively, established cooperative relationships with more than 120 universities, established research institutes and international organizations in more than 40 countries and China Taiwan province as well as Hong Kong Administrative Region, and held more than 30 large-scale international academic conferences and educated more than 310 students abroad.The University enjoys a favorable circumstance. It occupies a total area of more than 1000 hectares and all the buildings on the campus have a floor space of 545 thousand square meters, 201.3 thousand square meters of which are teaching and auxiliary buildings. The total value of the teaching instruments and equipments is up to 121.65 million Yuan, average value being above 800 Yuan, and the library has a collection of 1.7506 million volumes. The University also established a modern network system for public education services, with the network of distance education, the network of comprehensive teaching affairs management and the campus network of computers, communication and cable TV as the main body. The University was honored many times as the “National Advanced Group of Ethnic Education ”, “National Advanced Group of Ethnic Unity and Progress”, “National Advanced Grassroots Unit of Party Organization” and “National Advanced University of Party Construction and Ideological Work” by the State Council, the Organization Department of CCCPC, the Publicity Department of CCCPC, the Ministry of Education, The State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and Gansu Province. The University has also won 348 awards at the level of Province, Ministry and above, among which 1 national award of “the Five one Program”, 2 national third-prize awards and 58 provincial awards for scientific and technological progress, 3 awards conferred by the Ministry of Education for advanced achievements in humanities and social sciences research, 258 provincial awards for advanced achievements in social sciences research and 14 provincial Awards of Dunhuang Literature and Arts. At present, under the urgent demand of the economic and social development of Gansu Province and the western areas as a whole, the University is working hard to establish itself as a first-class university in western areas oriented at fostering teachers and a high-level university across China, boasting distinctive academic features and superior disciplines such as pedagogy, Arts and other basic disciplines of Arts and Science.] [http://www.nwnu.edu.cn/cate.do?cate=0038]