Bingwen Academy
Release time：2023-04-25
Nanjing University Bingwen Academy was established in August 2020 and is affiliated with the College of First-Year Students of Nanjing University. Under the unified plan of the School of Undergraduate Studies and the College of First-Year Students , the Academy promotes the “Educating Five Domains Simultaneously”, advances the general education, cognitive education and disciplinary integration education for first-year students, and creates a learning and living community for first-year full-time undergraduate students in humanities disciplines. After one year of education in the Academy system, students will enter departments such as the School of Literature, the School of History, the Department of Philosophy (Religious Studies), the School of Journalism and Communication, the School of Foreign Studies, the School of Overseas Education, and the School of Marxism for professional learning.
1. Name Origin
The Academy is named after Guo Bingwen, a famous educator, president of National Southeast University, one of the predecessors of Nanjing University, and the founder of modern Chinese universities.
Guo Bingwen received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1914 and returned to China to participate in the establishment of Nanjing Higher Normal School. He later served as the president of Nanjing Higher Normal School and Southeast University, earning the title of “Father of National Southeast University.” Guo Bingwen is the founder of modern universities in China and was regarded as the “most active Chinese educator on the international stage.” (*There are different accounts of Guo Bingwen’s birth and death dates. This article follows the information provided on the official website of Nanjing University.)
As a renowned educator, Guo Bingwen has left numerous spiritual legacies in the field of education. In terms of student education, he advocated “Educating Three Domains Simultaneously”: first, a strong body; second, an enriched spirit; and third, morality, scholarship and talent. The goal of “Educating Three Domains Simultaneously” is to encourage students to develop a well-rounded personality and become responsible citizens for the country. Regarding university education, he believed that we should strive for “Four Balances”: a balance between general education and specialized education, a balance between humanities and sciences, a balance between teaching staff and facilities, and a balance between domestic and international.
Bingwen Academy inherits the spirit of Guo Bingwen to cultivate talents for the country, and fully responds to the overall requirements of the university’s new model of “Three-dimensional Education”, the new pattern of “Educating Five Domains Simultaneously”, and the new environment of “everyone becoming talented”.
2. Work Structure
Zhou Xian, senior professor of humanities and social sciences at Nanjing University and Distinguished Professor of Changjiang Scholars at the Ministry of Education, is dean of Bingwen Academy.
The Academy sets an Academy Council, consisting of the Dean of the Academy, the Academye staff, the Dean of Instruction (Director) of the relevant faculty, and the Head of Student Work, which is responsible for studying the daily construction work of the Academy and communicating and coordinating with the relevant faculty.
The Academye Council has a standing institution, the Student Affairs Office, which is responsible for the daily operation of the Academy and the management of student education.
The Academy has deepened the mentorship system for new students. The team of new student mentors, consisting of academic mentors, career mentors, faculty mentors, and peer mentors, is dedicated to helping students establish and improve their values, academic interests, and personality development, and promoting their overall development.
Student organizations play an important role in students’ self-education, self-mana College gement, and self-service. The student organizations formed by the College based on work practices include the College League, the Class League Integration Organization, and the Student Life Community Liaison Committee.
3. Talent Cultivation
Based on the fundamental task of cultivating students with moral integrity, Bingwen Academyfocuses on the root-seeking approach in education, gathers educational resources, promotes students’ cognitive transformation education, facilitates effective connection between general education and specialized education, and builds a community for teachers’ growth and innovation. All these efforts aim to lay a solid foundation for cultivating “new liberal arts” talents with firm political beliefs, profound humanistic attainments, broad international perspectives, and innovative thinking abilities.
Focusing on the concept of “Educating Five Domains Simultaneously”, based on the culture of the Academy and the construction of a student community, we aim to cultivate “Bingwen Growth Home”. We strive to strengthen ideological guidance, academic atmosphere, moral and heart education, and the cultivation of quality. We aim to nurture a community culture, attach importance to cultivating innovative talents, and guide freshmen to adapt to university life more quickly and effectively.
The Academy strives to trengthen the leadership of “Great Mentors”, give full play to the comprehensive education function of mentors, connect the strength of professional departments, and create projects such as the “Baby Swallow Growth Classroom”, “Happy Study in Binging” Mentorship Camp, and the “Nanyong Root-searching Practice Team”.
