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Shanxi (山西) Normal University is the most important educational institution
in Shanxi (山西) Province for training high school teachers. The University
is located in the city of Linfen, which lies on the bank of the Fen River
in southern Shanxi (山西) Province, and close to the famous Ding Village
Neolithic excavation site.
Shanxi (山西) Normal University is one of the five universities with a long
history in Shanxi (山西) Province. It is situated in the city of Linfen,
Shanxi (山西) Province. Shanxi (山西) Normal University, originally called
Jin Nan Teachers Junior College, was founded in 1958.
In 1962 the system of higher education in Shanxi (山西) was changed, and the school was the only junior college left in the whole province. In 1964 it merged with the Shanxi (山西) Teachers College (now, Shanxi (山西) University), and was upgraded to a four-year-college. In 1984 it was officially renamed, with the approval of the State Education Department, Shanxi (山西) Normal University. In 1999 the Shanxi (山西) Government decided to combine the Physical Education College and Shanxi (山西) Normal Junior School of Vocational Education into Shanxi (山西) Normal University.
Shanxi (山西) Normal University was established in 1958 as a normal school, then called the Southern Shanxi (山西) Normal School (SSNS). Among the first students were model primary school teachers and some high school graduates chosen from every county of the Jinnan Prefecture.
In 1964 the school was elevated to the status of a four-year teachers college and the expansion program began. Additional personnel and support services enabled the college to make plans for long-term growth, and in 1984 it became Shanxi (山西) Normal University.
During the Cultural Revolution, Shanxi (山西) Teacher’s University suffered a great deal. Teaching ceased, and for six years there were no students. The university was forced to move from the eastern suburbs to the western part of Linfen. In 1976, after the smashing of the “Gang of Four? Shanxi (山西) Normal University began a new era of development and growth.
The academic programs at the University can be divided into eleven departments; Chinese, History, Political Education,
Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, Foreign Language, Physical Education and the Department of Educational Administration.
Also available are non-degree programs, night school and correspondent courses. Enrollment exceeds 12,488 students; 16,215 students in adult e
ducation, over 300 postgraduate students, 2,100 faculty
members and other staff. There are about 1,000 full-time instructors,
138 full-time professors, 420 associate professors and 392 lecturers.
The University cooperates with other universities in China to train for
the Ph.D.; at present, six doctorate programs. The University employs
5-9 foreign experts or teachers annually, who teach specialized courses
in the Foreign Language Department.
The University covers a land area of fifty acres. The new science building
faces south. In addition to the university buildings, there are the experimental
middle school and an experimental primary school -kindergarten. New buildings
and equipment are being added constantly. The University is currently
undergoing an extensive new construction, and renovation and redesign
programs.
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Ni Sheng Tang Communist Party Secretary for Shanxi (山西) Normal University |
Over the past 30 years, the University has trained over 10,000 middle school teachers, and other professionals pursuing nonacademic careers.
The University possesses some relatively advanced instructional equipment and material. The Media Center, Computer Center, and the language labs all provide support and services to the entire faculty, staff, and the student-body.
The library occupies nearly 8,000 square meters and it is the largest library at present in the entire Province. Its holdings, both in Chinese and foreign languages, consist of 125, 000 titles with more than 550,000 volumes; including many ancient books (110, 000 classics). The reading rooms have over 800 seats and are open from eight a.m. to eleven p.m.
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Haishun University President |
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Aside: the Third-floor “Foreign Language Reading Room?houses the National Geographic, several English weekly-news periodicals, The China Daily (China’s official, Xin Hua, English newspaper); even Esquire, and a very, very excellent publication from Hong Kong (China Tourism); and, the never touched, complete twenty-volume edition of the Oxford Dictionary (covers about 12 feet!). Also many new textbooks.
During the academic year 2005, Shanxi (山西) Normal University was rated sixteenth in the Best Teachers Universities in China publication (228 in total).
The physics building, which occupies 8,400 square meters, was completed in 1989. The newly built students?dining hall, which is the largest in Shanxi (山西), occupies 3,900 square meters, and can feed 2,000 students at one sitting.
There are several research institutes and programs at the University: the Educational Sciences Institute, the Chinese Classical Opera and Operatic Relics Research Institute, the Institute of Jin History, the Macromolecular Compound Research Program, Applied Computer Sciences and other individual research programs. Some projects are unique to this country and have attracted the attention of specialists from abroad.
Shanxi (山西) Normal University publishes several periodicals and papers. The Yu Wen Bao, Chinese language periodical, has the largest subscription of its kind in the country. The Shanxi (山西) Shida Xue Bao (social sciences) has domestic as well as foreign subscribers in the United States, Japan, Russia, England and France. There is also an English language paper, the English Weekly, and other papers like the Mathematics Weekly, and the Physics Weekly.
During the past few years the University has expanded its cooperative exchange programs.
At present it has established academic exchange relations with several colleges and Universities in the United States, such as Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, Brooklyn State University in New York, and Gantokakuen University in Japan; and Dalarna University in Sweden. The University has other informal links and ties with colleges and universities in Japan, England and Canada. A new program (2003-4) with Finland is pending.