To give a vigorous boost to institutional development and seek for supports from overseas alumni, Chairman Chi-Hung Tseng and President Mao-Jiun Wang led Special Assistant Andrew Wang and Dean of the Office of R&D Li-Chih Wang onto a trip of intensive visits with alumni, sharing Tunghai’s educational vision and mid- and long-term plans. The trip took them to the San Francisco Bay Area, California; Southern California; New York; and Washington D.C.. They also visited the designing architect of the Luce Chapel, Ieoh-Ming Pei, as well as universities in the United States.
The ten-day tour received enthusiastic support and anticipation from overseas alumni. Many of them traveled long distances to meet with the delegation. Alumni gathered to share their observations of the development of the university and to make suggestions, marking the gatherings rewarding exchanges of ideas. Presidents of regional alumni associations mentioned how social changes may impact Tunghai with challenges, including sub-replacement fertility, energy crisis, resource limitation for higher education, and the change of social values. They pointed out that the academic, financial, and spiritual supports from the alumni are essential to the growth of Tunghai University.
Chairman Tseng talked about the trip in a local TV interview, explaining that the main purpose of this trip is to share the recent educational vision of Tunghai with overseas alumni, including innovation, globalization, and campus-friendliness. By achieving these educational directions, Tunghai University would create another peak of success.
According to President Mao-Jiun Wang, besides sharing Tunghai’s long-term plans with alumni, this trip also aimed to acquire suggestions and advices from the alumni. The vision of Tunghai University is to become an innovative outstanding university and to create a friendly and loving campus environment. With the help of internet and big data technology, Tunghai University would evolve towards goals such as “Smart Campus,” “Smart Library,” and “Smart Farm.” Additionally, Tunghai has been promoting the “Da Vinci Program” which breaks the boundaries between teachers and students to create more innovation opportunities in recent years.
In terms of globalization, currently there are more than a thousand international students enrolled in Tunghai University, approximately 6% of the total student number. The goal is to raise the ratio to 10% through various globalization practices and efforts in order to expand the global perspectives of Tunghai students.
This trip certainly successfully bonded overseas alumni in the United States. We hope to connect alumni from the past six decades with current students to pave the way to another six decades of glory.