President Counselor
Dr. Denis Fred Simon was Conferred the title of "President's Counselor on International Affairs" by President Chen Jun of Nanjing University
On August 31st, Dr. Denis Fred Simon, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs at SUNY's Levin Institute, was conferred the title of "President's Counselor on International Affairs" by President Chen Jun of Nanjing University. In a ceremony attended by various NJU administrators, faculty and students, Dr. Simon was acknowledged for his extensive contributions to the promotion of ties between the State University of New York and Nanjing University as well as his larger contributions to the improvement of US-China relations. Dr. Simon has been a regular visitor to China since the arly 1980s and is recognized around the world as well as in China as one of the leading experts on business and technology issues in the People's Republic of China. Last year, Dr. Simon received the prestigious China National Friendship Award from Prmeier Wen Jiabao; the award is the highest of nits kind given by the government of China to a foreigner for his/her contributions to Chinese economic, S&T and social development.
In September 2007, SUNY and NJU will launch a pilot program for student exchanges that will result in approximately 30 NJU students being admitted to a dual degree program that will be comprised of two years of study in China and two years at SUNY Stony Brook. Approximately half the students will be focused on biology, while the other half will concentrate on new materials. The pilot is part of a comprehensive agreement signed between the two institutions in 2005 that provides for a broad range of interactions for students and faculty. According to Vice-President Zhang Rong of NJU, "Dr. Simon's unique understanding of Chinese culture and people, including his language skills, has helped to advance the cooperation efforts between SUNY and NJU. He has played a highly instrumental role in building understanding and maintaining the momentum regarding the on-going efforts to develop an innovative approach to the dual degree curriculum and learning experience."
The award conferred upon Dr. Simon is the first of its kind granted by Nanjing University. It reflects the university's current efforts to build a more global campus and to utilize the knowledge and skills of person's--foreign and local--such as Dr. Simon to ensure NJU is on the right path. Dr. Simon will meet with President Chen and his staff on a regular basis to exchange ideas about new program initiatives and to provide updates about recent developments in the US and abroad about the globalization of higher education.
Nanjing University is one of China's key comprehensive universities and it functions directly under the Ministry of Education. With its multi-disciplinary structure and highly qualified faculty, Nanjing University is one of the leaders in educational operations among Chinese institutions of higher learning. It is located in the ancient capital of six dynasties -- Nanjing. The University dates back to 1902 when Sanjiang Normal School was founded, and then evolved as Liangjiang Normal School, Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, the Fourth Zhongshan University, and National Central University. On August 8, 1949, the National Central University was renamed National Nanjing University. In October 1950, as required by the Ministry of Education, the name was changed to Nanjing University.
Since China's reform and opening, Nanjing University has gradually developed multi-disciplinary programs in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, technological sciences, life sciences, modern engineering and management. At present, Nanjing University has 17 schools with 50 departments. It runs 74 undergraduate programs, 186 master's programs (with six programs designated by the University itself), seven professional master's programs; 16 primary disciplines for doctoral degrees, and 122 Ph.D. programs (with six programs designated by the University itself) as well as 18 post-doctoral stations. In addition, the University has 28 national key disciplines, 10 provincial key disciplines, and 6 national key laboratories. It also houses 11 national training bases for the research and teaching personnel in basic sciences and liberal arts, and three bases for humanities and social sciences research appraised by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Among the nearly 2,000 teaching faculty, there are 654 full professors, including 27 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, three academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, four academicians of the Third-World Academy of Sciences, and one academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. There are two premier scientists for the National Key Development Program in Basic Research (Project 973), and also 19 middle-aged and young scholars nationally appraised for remarkable contributions, 70 winners of National Outstanding Youth Fund, 36 specially appointed professors for the nation's Cheung Kong Scholars Program.