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areas.
Both of the two professors agreed that universities should provide a certain
atmosphere for talents training, and hoped to promote the academic atmosphere
through the developments of PKU toward a word-class university. Prof. Rao Yi also
expressed his hope that in the next fifty or one hundred years, the academic and
research achievements made by the talents they trained could be adopted in the
society and be included in the textbooks of the major countries in the world.
Seeking Excellent Teachers—First-Class Universities Need First-Class Teachers
Enhancing faculty is the basic guarantee for the development of universities. The
teachers‘ capabilities are not only the representatives of the universities‘ overall
research and teaching levels, but also set up a solid intellectual foundation for future
developments. Prof. Chen Pingyuan analyzed how the universities could provide a
relaxed environment to attract and retain teachers in the view of school systems. He
stressed that a good leadership system in the universities was very important in the
construction of faculty: firstly, providing an appropriate environment, such as
research funding and salary; secondly, creating an atmosphere that respects
knowledge and professors. He also pointed out that universities should set up a
scientific evaluation system for teachers and analyzed situation of Department of
Chinese Language and Literature as an example.
Prof. Rao Yi focused on what kinds of qualities and capabilities a first-class teacher
should have. He said: ―In the next one hundred years, there should be a large
number of subjects in China‘s universities reaching the world-class, and the
achievements made by the researchers in these areas will appear in textbooks of
major countries. Only by this could China win respect from the world.‖ He also
pointed out that excellent researchers should attend academic activities regularly to
arose their intellectual interests and avoid flippancy minds.
Preserving Humanism—First-Class Universities Need Innovation of Traditions
How can PKU inherit her excellent humanism, and advance with the times and
innovate continuously? To this question, Prof. Rao Yi said: ―We should inherit the
tradition of freedom in thought, but keep cautious in actions. We should have a high
sense of social responsibility, and turn our thoughts into action only after we have
enough capabilities.‖ He also said: "PKU should dig deep into the essence of
Chinese traditional culture, and sum up the advantages and disadvantages of China
in all ages, but avoid total westernization." He thought PKU has the responsibilities to
lead the society to pursuit intellect and knowledge.
After the speeches, Prof. Rao Yi and Prof. Chen Pingyuan gave specific and
thought-provoking answers to students' questions.
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