Weinan Normal University

Weinan Normal University is situated inWeinan City, Shaanxi Province, established as Chishui Vocational School in1923. At present, it has become a comprehensive multidiscipline researchuniversity with prominence in teachers education and steps forward to a normaluniversi

ty characterized by great superiority in teachers education.

WNU is entitled to grant Bachelor’s degree and jointly trains post-graduates ofmaster and doctoral level.Presently, it has 61 undergraduate majors in10 different disciplines, includingeconomics, law, education, literature, history, science, technology, managementscience, art and agriculture. There are 11 schools and 2 institutions ofInternational Exchanges and Further Education. It enrolls students nationwide.The full-time students, exchange students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan andoverseas students form South Korea, Thailand reach 17,000 in total number. The university is composed of three districts, Chaoyang, Xiyue and Hanma, covering 650,000 square meters. Apart from 25 academic databases, the accessibility to1,890,000 copies of books and 43,5000 electronic books makes the library a goodplace to study and do research. Currently, the value of advanced teaching andresearch facilities totals to RMB 1.5billion.

WNU adopts strategy of reinvigorating universitythrough human resource development by engaging masters, experts and talents.The famous engineering expert and academician of the Chinese Academy ofSciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering in the Chinese Academy ofEngineering, Li Zhuofen is invited as honorary president. Advisors of thepresident are a team of revered officials, academicians and renowned expertsand scholars, including Li Zhuofen; Qin Dahe, a meteorologist; Xian Qiuhen, anexpert in materials chemistry; Shujie Yao, a famous British-Chinese economist;Zhang Dake, a scholar in Shi Ji (Historical Records) and GuoZengming, a professor of defence economy. These talents are affiliated to theworkstation of Shaanxi academicians and experts in the university and they arewinner of various provincial or national awards, outstanding contributors tothe province and the nation, specialists of special government allowance orspecialists of “Talents of Sanqin” allowance. The current teaching staff in the university totals toover 1,300, with 109 professors and researchers, 303 associate professors and139 teachers gained doctoral degree. The percentage of the teachers with masteror doctoral degree in main courses is 66.90% and 23.97% separately. Based onthe project of “excellent teachers”, a group of teachers become specialists in defence education, “Talents of Sanqin”, talents of “The National Key Talent Project” and“Scholar of Weihua”. Others are members of teaching team or famous teachers atstate-level or provincial levels, teaching experts and teaching model and someothers are the winners of national micro class contest, or winners of contestof teaching competition of higher education in Shaanxi or China.

WNU attaches importance to connotative development. Ithas three key (characteristic) provincial disciplines in Chinese language andculture, basic mathematics and industrial Economics and 9 characteristicdisciplines in Marxism, education,English language and culture, music and dance, painting, drama and film,chemistry, biology and physics. The university also has 78 “undergraduateteaching projects”; state-level project of educational reform, open courses,and characteristic disciplines; provincial level open courses, excellentcourses; bilingual model classes; provincial project of creative mode instudent education; center of model teaching and teaching team; and provincialbase of university-student internship.

WNU constructs,integrates, improves and creates many different types of platforms byemphasizing collaborative innovation in terms of disciplines, teaching andresearch. There are 13 provincial research platforms and 16industry-university-research (IUR) platforms by adding ministry and provincialacademic platforms and striving for national academic platform, includingPopularization Base of Marxism in Shaanxi, Center of Qindong History andCulture Research, Chinese Academy of Shi Ji (Historical Records) Research, Academy of Industry and Technology ofCivil-Military Integration Research in West, Center of Local IntellectualProperty Research, Research and Application Center of X-ray Inspection, Centerof Low Carbon Alcohol Catalysis in Shaanxi, Lab of Eco-environment Research ofRivers Region in Shaanxi, Research Center of Sports and Health in Shaanxi,Research Center of Local Operas in Shaanxi, Research Center of Piano andChinese Culture in Shaanxi, Research Center of West-China Folk Music and Dancein Shaanxi, and Confucius School. “Si Maqian and Studies of Shi Ji” in Journalof Weinan Normal University, a column on the list of Education Ministryfamous-column construction project, becomes a nationwide, fundamental, guidingand serviceable research position on “Studies of Shi Ji”, together with Chinese Academy of Shi Ji (Historical Records) Research, Exhibition Hall of Chinese Shi Ji (HistoricalRecords) Research, ChineseShi Ji (Historical Records) Research Website, and Characteristic electronicdatabase of Sima qian and Studies of Shi Ji.  

Discipline, teaching and research teams have formedmain directions with their own characteristics and advantages. Among these arehumanities and social sciences including Sima Qian and Records of Shi Ji (HistoricalRecords), History ofShaanxi and Gansu Base Area, Military-CivilianIntegration Technology Industry, Medium and Small-sized Enterprise Management, IntellectualProperty, Marxism Popularization, sciences including Probability Theory and Application,Western Culture Innovation Industry, Photoelectric Detection, Optoelectronic Integration,Clean Energy, New Materials and Wetland Ecosystem Protection, and artsincluding Large Qin Ling Art Genres Creation, Art Design, Chinese Piano andMusic, Western Folk Music and Dance Creation and Performance, Local OperasCreation and Performance. Professionals apply for National Social Science Fund, National Natural ScienceFund, National Soft Science Research Project, National Post-doctor SocialScience Fund, Ministry of Education and Related National Ministries, Shaanxiand Local Scientific Research Projects. The number of research projects hasbeen increasing dramatically. A series of symbolic research achievements areawarded at state-level or by the Ministry of Education or Industry InformationMinistry, others are granted as Award of Outstanding Achievement in Philosophy& Social Sciences of Shaanxi Province, the Award of Science &Technology, the Award of Science and Technology Progress, the Award of NationalDefense Science and Technology Progress, the Award of University Science andTechnology, or the Award of Teaching Achievement, etc.

WNU pays great attention to the cultivation ofstudents’ innovation ability, is the first few universities to construct andbuild Science and TechnologyGarden in Shaanxi province. It has cooperated with Chinese Academy of Sciencesand Beijing University to construct technology research platform catering tostrategic and emerging industry, construct New Silk Road Economic Belt andInternet Financial Industry Collaborative Innovation Center with BeijingUniversity and Central University of Finance and Economics guaranteeingstudents to make entrepreneurial innovative preparation. It has established QindongTeachers Education and Collaborative Innovation Experimental Zone exploring toco-cultivate teachers with local governments and primary and junior middleschools, set up 42 education and science research projects conducted byteachers and education science research work station, teachers from primary andjunior middle schools and normal university students. It also has hostedNational Training Plan and Provincial Training Plan and formed to cover theeducation of teacher training of every discipline.

WNU firmly sticks to the Weihua Zhaojin spirit ofentrepreneurship and innovation, promotes the school creed of “UniversalApplicability, Unity in Diversity” and the school spirit “Strive Everyday, JoyEveryday”, adheres to the philosophy of advanced culture for education,cultivates socialist course constructors and successors with scientific faith,ability, quality and spirit. It has cultivated more than 70,000 advanced andmanagement talents. Students have worked industriously and taken on excellent qualityand spiritual outlooks. They have won many national and provincial level prizesin the competition including National English Competition for College Students,National Sports Skills and Academic Knowledge Competition for PhysicalEducation Major Students, Recitation in Chinese Classical Poems, National ThreeDimensional and Digital Innovation Design Contest, National MathematicalContest In Modeling, Bisheng Cup---National Electronic Design Contest and TheApplication System and Design of the Internet of Things, Yongyou Cup---NationalUndergraduate Accounting Information Skills Contest, China Originality Design Contest,National Chinese Dance “Lotus Award” Contest, National Undergraduate ChemistryExperiment Contest. There are many excellent alumni including the founder ofWNU, the famous educator Wang Shangde, the founding father general ZhangZongxun, leader for liberating Weinan twice Quan Binghua, Member of theNational Commission and Military Commission of the Central Committee, Ministerof Defense General Chang Wanquan and associate director of State Administrationfor Industry and Commerce Han Xinmin, Professor Wu Congju in ShandongUniversity, Professor Yang Baojun in Renmin University of China, National “May 1” Labor Medals Winner Wu Haiyang, Chinese Education Man of the Year Deng Jian , National Model Teacher Xi Li, Shaanxi Moral Standard Teacher Tian Jiangtao, the chairmen inWuxi UNICOMP Liu Jun and Xi’an Dingli High Voltage Apparatus Coporation ZhaoWeipeng.

WNU insists on implementing Young Marx ActivistsTraining Project, has established in-school patriotism education bases like Memorial of Liu Zhidan, Xi Zhongxun, Science Museum and HeluoCulture Exhibition Hall. It has won the National Excellent Institute for ArtEducation, National Excellent Institute for Language and Characters, National Model University for Language and Characters Standardization, the Best Institute in Shaanxi, the Excellent Institute in Shaanxi, Civilized Campus in Shaanxi, Garden Unit inShaanxi etc.

Standing at a newstarting point, Weinan Normal University is ready to have a new race under theleadership of the Party Committee of WNU. With all the teachers and thestudents of WNU uniting and working together, it will further study andimplement the spirit of the Eighteenth Party Congresses, carry out educationand teaching reform, further itscommitmentto promote the quality of talents, stick to scientific development, enhanceconnotation development, fulfill its function as talent cultivation, scientificresearch, serving the society, cultural inheritance and innovation and striveto promote the construction of advanced local normal university withdistinguishing characteristics.

(May of 2015)