President Prof. Ju sums up 2007 achievements, outlines 2008 plan
We were all busy in 2007 making preparations for TNUA’s 25th anniversary. The preparation work also brought us closer to each other through frequent discussions, interactions and collaborations. The anniversary activities in October were a success. We also saw a comeback of the Kuandu Arts Festival in an even larger scale after a three-year break. In the month-long festival we had more than 50 performances of music, dance, theatre, and other arts events, all of which attracted 32,500 visitors. There were also the conferment of honorary doctoral degrees and the honoring of outstanding alumni. An international forum brought together presidents of local and foreign arts universities to share their insights into arts education,as well as putting TNUA under the international spotlight. On the day of the anniversary, it was a great reunion of TNUA alumni. The returning of many outstanding alumni came as a strong encouragement to students who were aspiring to emulate their success. The banquet also allowed more than 2,000 guests to have a deeper understanding of the University, and at the same time strengthened the University’s external connections. In 2008 we will work towards making the Kuandu Arts Festival a more international event. Apart from local artists, we will also invite famous performing troupes from overseas to usher in a new era marking TNUA asthe arts and cultural center of northern Taipei.On the pedagogical side, we have so far completed several resource sharing projects. The Colleges have also completed preliminary planning for course integration to reduce required courses to half of the total credits for graduation. This will allow teachers to offer more diversified courses for students to choose from. We are also implementing the electronization of syllabuses, which serves to remind instructors that they need some kind of discipline and teaching plans apart from the creativity in their teaching methods.
Apart from continued efforts to integrate the curriculum and establish an electronic data base for the TNUA administration, this year we will revamp the organization and functions of the Center for Continuing Education, and merge it with the Creative Resource Center for Traditional Arts to form a “Center for Arts Resources and Continuing Education,” which is aimed at becoming an outlet to showcase TNUA’s academic achievements to the outside world. Many other facilities will be completed this year, including a new cultural hall that features a 200-seat movie theater. The hall is expected to open in June, and by then TNUA will become the only university in Taiwan that boasts a complete array of professional exhibition and performance facilities – a concert hall, a dance hall, a theater, an arts museum, and a movie theater.The on-campus Wi-Fi network will see further upgrade, while the construction of the new dormitory will have been 80% completed by the end of 2008.TNUA achieved much in 2007, and 2008 can be expected to see TNUA take great strides towards becoming a first-rate university by both the national and international standards.