National Dong Hwa University
National Dong Hwa University is a national research university located in Hualien, Taiwan. Established in 1994, NDHU offers sixth widest range of disciplines in Taiwan, including the sciences, engineering, computer science, environmental studies, oceanography, law, arts, design, humanities, anthropology, social sciences, education sciences, music, and business.
NDHU is known for its liberal atmosphere and internationalization, with the sixth highest proportion of international students in Taiwan. The university is organized into eight colleges, 44 academic departments, and 56 graduate institutes, enrolling around 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, including over 1,000 international students pursuing degrees and joining exchange programs.
NDHU is a member of six Taiwan's European Union Centre, a Think Tank for European Studies. With Taiwan's oldest school for Indigenous Studies, NDHU College of Indigenous Studies is among leading institutes of its kind in Asia.
NDHU has Taiwan's fifth highest endowment among national universities and NDHU Library holds more than two million volumes and is eighth largest academic library in Taiwan. The university's main campus is located in Shoufeng, in the northern half of Hualien County. Encompassing an area of, the main campus houses almost all colleges and research institutes except the Graduate Institute of Marine Biology, which is jointly founded in National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.
History
Presidents of NDHU
Foundation
National Dong Hwa University was established in 1994 in Shoufeng. As the first Taiwan's university founded under the full democratization after the Martial Law and Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion were all lifted, NDHU set "Freedom, Democracy, Creativity, Excellence" as its founding spirit to reflect the notable timing of NDHU's establishment.With Mu Tzung-Tsann, the vice-chancellor of California State University, Los Angeles, as founding president, Dr.Mu immediately resigned from his tenured position at California State University, Los Angeles and gave up his US green card to establish National Dong Hwa University. Dr.Mu visited many reputable universities in United States to conduct NDHU's planning, including MIT, Stanford University, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, University of Virginia. Many senior executives of these universities joined NDHU's planning, including Alan Kreditor, Vice-president of University of Southern California.
NDHU attracted many notable Taiwanese scholars from universities in North America to co-found this university, such as Yang Mu, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at University of Washington, Cheng Ching-mao, Professor of East Asian Studies at University of California, Berkeley, Yang Tse, Professor of Comparative Literature at Brown University, Cheng Chih-Ming, Professor of Economics at Georgia Institute of Technology, Kuo Syh-yen, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of Arizona, Huang Chua‐Huang, Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Ohio State University, Chiao Chien, Professor of Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington, Philip Wang, Professor of Recreation & Tourism Management at Kent State University, Wu Tiee-Jian, Professor of Mathematics at University of Houston, and James Fu, Professor of Statistics at University of Manitoba.
In 2000, NDHU establish the first College of Indigenous Studies in Taiwan, which is commonly regarded as most leading institution for Indigenous Studies in Asia.In 2005, NDHU was in academic partnership with the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, the most notable institution dedicated to public education and research of marine biology in Taiwan, to jointly establish the College of Marine Sciences and Graduate Institute of Marine Biology in Kenting National Park, Checheng, Pingtung.
File:NDHU History III.jpg|thumb|left|Charles Moore, Dean of Yale School of Architecture, presented his design idea at the final round of International Campus Design Competition of NDHU.
Prior to the merge with Hua-Shih, NDHU was the first university in Taiwan to offer degrees in Natural Resources Management, Environmental Policy, Tourism and Recreation Management, Kinesiology, Biotechnology, Ethnic Relations and Cultures, Indigenous Arts, Indigenous Social Work, Ethnodevelopment, Creative Writing, Global Logistics Management.
National Hualien University of Education (1947-2008)
The National Hualien University of Education was one of Taiwan's oldest normal schools established in 1947 under National Government of the Republic of China in Hualien City as Taiwan Provincial Hualien Normal School in response to the nation's reconstruction and development after World War II. In 1949, Hua-Shih established Affiliated Primary School of Taiwan Provincial Hualien Normal School to provide a training ground for the School's students, which cultivated the winner of Oscar Best Director, Ang Lee.Followed the rapidly arising demand for teachers serving for compulsory education purpose, the school was renamed Taiwan Provincial Hualien Junior Teachers' College in 1964, National Hualien Teachers' College in 1987, and granted university status in 2005.
Hua-Shih was Taiwan's first institution to offer MEd and PhD in Multicultural Education, MA and PhD in Folk Literature, as well as one of four institutions in Taiwan to offer MS and PhD in Science Education.
Prior to the merge with NDHU, Hua-Shih has cultivated many notable alumni, including Tsai Ping-kun, Principal of Jianguo High School and Taichung First Senior High School, Tang Chih-Min, Founding Principal of Affiliated Senior High School of National Chengchi University and Director of Department of Education of Taipei City Government, and Chang Ming-Wen, Director of Department of Education of New Taipei City Government.
National Dong Hwa University
In 2008, with 2.5 billion support from Ministry of Education, National Dong Hwa University merged with the National Hualien University of Education into the university with 5th widest range of disciplines in Taiwan, and renamed the newly integrated College of Education into [|Hua-Shih College of Education] in memory of sixty-year dedication of education by National Hualien University of Education.Meanwhile, NDHU established the College of The Arts as the first art school in eastern Taiwan and [|College of Environmental Studies] as the first college in Taiwan dedicated to sustainability and environmental management in interdisciplinary approach. In 2014, Maw-Kuen Wu, an honorary member of the National Academy of Sciences and distinguished professor of applied physics at Columbia University, took over as NDHU's president.
During Wu's presidency, the Sunflower Student Movement occurred, and Wu was the first university president to publicly support activists by announcing that: In 2018, Chao Han-Chieh took over the fourth president of NDHU, who is the Fellow of Institution of Engineering and Technology and Fellow of British Computer Society.
In 2020, NDHU was the first university to sign the "Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals", and released its first GRI sustainability report. In 2022, NDHU established Huilan College and Rift Valley Interdisciplinary Shuyuen Undergraduate Program, the first undergraduate college and program in Eastern Taiwan.
The fully integrated NDHU consolidated its reputation in many disciplines and prestige in Eastern Taiwan, and reflected in its rankings and other accolades.
Campuses
National Dong Hwa University's three campuses are known for their natural settings.Shoufeng
NDHU's main campus, Shoufeng Campus, is situated in rural town of Shoufeng, Hualien. It is located in Papaya Creek Alluvial Plain of East Rift Valley, ringed by Central Mountain Range and Coastal Mountain Range, about south of Taroko National Park, south of Hualien City, and north of the Tropic of Cancer.NDHU's campus is Taiwan's largest flat land university campus, which was designed in postmodern style by Charles Moore, the dean of Yale School of Architecture.
The Shoufeng campus is renowned for its distinctive architecture and natural setting. The academic area are on the center of the campus, containing library, art museum, concert hall, arts workshop, and academic & research buildings. The NDHU Concert Hall within the College of The Arts is the largest performing arts hall in Eastern Taiwan.
The two dormitory communities are adjacent to academic area, one is on the east, the other on the west. The Athletic facilities surrounds academic area, including stadium, swimming pools, athletic field, baseball field, basketball court, tennis court, volleyball court, kayak, and facilities for Project Adventure.
In 2016, NDHU runs solar university project, constructing the first batch of rooftop photovoltaic solar panels. As of 2021, the solar energy covers 40% of NDHU's annual electric usage, which is the best ever performance achieved by any university in Taiwan.