2006 Fall Symposium

 on

 ASIA

• Dr. Dexiang Zhang, Chinese Educator
     Secretary of Education of Liaoning Province, China
     Former President of Shenyang Normal University
     Representative of National People's Congress for China
  Nov 14 Public Lecture on Education in China,
                    7:30 pm in Heim G-11
  Nov 15 Classroom Participation:
      9:00-10:05 am PSci 221 w/ Dr. Roskin, in B307
     11:30-12:35 Hist 140 w/ Dr. Witwer, History Dept
            Luncheon
      2:30-3:50 pm w/ Education Dept
   

Dr. Zhang was among the first to pass the first national college entry examination after the cultural revolution, and began to study Political Education at Shenyang Normal University in 1977. After graduating with his Bachelor's degree from SNU, in 1981 he became a member of the faculty there.  He then studied Higher Education Management in Tokyo Gakugei University from 1986 to1988, and was promoted to vice president of Shenyang Normal University in 1992.  He received his doctorate in Higher Education from XiaMen University in 1995, and became president of SNU the same year - one of the youngest presidents of universities in Liaoning Province at that time.  Dr. Zhang served as president of Shenyang Normal University from 1995 to 2001. 

During his presidency at SNU, in order to provide a better academic atmosphere for the faculty and students, he suggested moving the whole campus from the center of the city to a suburban area. Under his leadership and with the support of the Liaoning Province government, the university sold its old campus and built up a brand new campus in the suburb of Shenyang, which is 6 times bigger than the old one. This move offered a great opportunity to Shenyang Normal University for better development in the future. This action also inspired many universities in Shenyang, Liaoning and other provinces in China; they followed the “SNU” methodology to make their campus a better place for students and faculty.

Dr. Zhang was appointed Secretary of Education for Liaoning Province by the Liaoning government in March of 2001, and has been a representative of the National People's Congress since 2003.  He is also an honorary professor at Honolulu University in Hawaii.

Some statistics related to Liaoning education:
Kindergartens: 7069
Elementary Schools: 9311; students: 2,660,000
Middle Schools: 1743; students: 1,570,000
Higher Schools: 1047; students: 1,254,000
Institutions of Higher Education (colleges, universities):75; students: 983,000