Hebei University

Hebei University
河北大学
Former names
Tianjin Business Institute, Jingu University, Tianjin Normal College, Tianjin Normal University
Motto 实事求是,笃学诚行[1]
Established 1921
Location Baoding, Hebei Province, China
Website www.hbu.edu.cn

Hebei University (河北大学 Héběi dàxué) is the only Comprehensive University in Hebei which is directly under Hebei provincial government and the Ministry of Education, China. It's located in Baoding, Hebei Province, China. The university currently has an enrollment of 44,200, including 5500 graduates and 38,700 undergraduates. 169 international students are also studying at the university.

History

The university was originally founded by French Jesuits in Tianjin in 1921, with the initial name "Tianjin Commercial University". From 1921 till 1960, the name of the university was changed four times, from Tianjin Commercial College to Jingu University (津沽大学), then to Tianjin Normal College, then to Tianjin Normal University. In 1960, the university is reformed as a Comprehensive University and named as Hebei University. 3 years after Tianjin was upgraded as autonomous municipality, Hebei University was moved to Baoding in 1970.

Campus

The University campus covers an area of over 700 acres (2.8 km2). It is well equipped with first-class facilities, notably in the areas of science and technology. The University library has a collection of 3,900,000 books and 5,000 periodicals published at home and abroad. It has one of the largest collections of rare books among the universities in China. The University museum houses more than 8,000 historical relics over 70 of which enjoy the highest degree of national protection. Furthermore, the museum also possesses some rare specimens of animals and plants.

Curriculum

As a comprehensive university, Hebei University offers a variety of courses covering a wide range of fields, including Philosophy, Economics, Law, Education, Literature, History, Science and Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Management. The 15 colleges offer 85 specialized undergraduate courses leading to bachelor's degrees. The university can also award master's degrees in 140 subjects and doctorates in 12 fields.

Faculty

Hebei University has assembled a teaching faculty well known for its intellectual vigor, among which there are quite a few accomplished scholars and experts. There is a total of 3,372 teaching and administrative employees, of whom 1,910 are doing teaching and research work, including 417 professors and 722 associate professors.

In addition to these eminent scholars, the university also boasts a staff of talented young teachers who are beginning to display their talents in their own academic fields. They are the backbone of teaching and research.

Hit-and-run incident (2010)

Main article: Li Gang incident

When a driver hit and killed one young woman, wounded another, and declared “Sue me if you dare. My father is Li Gang!” before trying to flee the scene, he set off a series of repercussions. First, the authorities tried to censor Internet and newspaper coverage. "But it was so widely discussed on the Internet that propaganda officials allowed some official press coverage." The driver's challenge to bystanders and police "quickly became a cynical catchphrase to describe various forms of corruption in China and a symbol of the growing divide between the privileged and connected elite and the underprivileged in this country." The driver was said to have been drunk and "racing." He ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison and some US$100,000 equivalent in compensation was paid to the family of the deceased victim and to the wounded student. The court, after the one-day closed trial in early 2011, said it was a "lenient" sentence due to a confession and the compensation. And "a lawyer who at one time represented the family of [the deceased] ... called the verdict flawed. 'Of course it’s not fair.... The whole legal process of this case has broken the rules many times.'" Li Gang "is the deputy public security chief in the district where the school is located, according to China’s state-run news media."[2] The victims had been in-line skating on the HU campus when struck. As to the news coverage, "[a] gadfly blog, sarcastically titled Ministry of Truth, [began] to puncture the veil surrounding censorship, anonymously posting secret government directives leaked by free-speech sympathizers. According to the blog’s sources, the Central Propaganda Department issued a directive on Oct. 28, [2010,] 10 days after the accident, 'ensuring there is no more hype regarding the disturbance over traffic at Hebei University.'" Meanwhile, "China’s national television network, CCTV, broadcast an Oct. 22 interview with Li Gang and his son, filled with effusive apologies for the accident though police regulations ostensibly bar interviews with detainees."[3]

References

  1. "校训校歌". Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  2. Barboza, David; Xu Yan contributed research, "Chinese Court Sentences Driver in Abuse-of-Power Case", The New York Times, January 31, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  3. Wines, Michael; Li Bibo contributed research from Beijing, "China’s Censors Misfire in Abuse-of-Power Case", The New York Times, November 17, 2010 (November 18, 2010 p. A1 NY ed.). Retrieved 2011-01-30.

External links

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