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Introduction
Historical Background
Originally known as "Kaohsiung Medical College", Kaohsiung Medical University was founded in 1954 by former Kaohsiung Mayor Frank C. Chen¡V who donated land for the college site ¡V and Prof. Tu Tsung ming ¡V Taiwan's first Doctor of Medicine. Located in Kaohsiung ¡V southern Taiwan's urban heart ¡V the college was the first private institution of its kind when it opened its doors. Prof. Tu, the first college president, built up the school in line with his philosophy of "Joyfully embracing learning, putting research first.", and "Resolutely striving for progress, encouraging study, and benefiting the world." Thanks to the efforts of his high-minded and hard-working colleagues, Prof. Tu transformed Kaohsiung Medical College into southern Taiwan's major center of medical science. The college hospital was founded in June 1957. Now named the "Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital", it has become southern Taiwan's largest medical center, safeguarding the health of the region's residents while fulfilling its three-fold mission of teaching, research, and service. In 1998, the college signed an agreement with the Kaohsiung Municipal Government, allowing it to assume control of Hsiaokang Hospital, which has since then continued to provide medical treatment and community health services.
Kaohsiung Medical College received permission from the Ministry of Education to change its name to "Kaohsiung Medical University" in August 1999. The university consists of six colleges: the College of Medicine, the College of Dentistry, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Nursing, the College of Health Science, and the College of Life Sciences. The university, and the college before it, has shouldered the four tasks of teaching, research, medical care, and service for more than 50 years. Southern Taiwan's foremost center of medical education and treatment, the university has won ratings of "superior" in all categories after evaluation under the Ministry of Education's "Mid-term School Administration Development Plan". After its first half-century, the school is changing to keep pace with society's growing internationalization and to cope with the many new challenges of the times. The university's approach to development can be summed up as "preserving, reforming, and innovating", while striving to realize the shared vision of, "Reshaping ourselves into a first-rate university of international repute on an enduring foundation, by combining the best of old and new."
Integrating Innovation with the Best of the Past to Achieve Leadership
Kaohsiung Medical College was formally established in 1954 to the eager applause of all segments of society. Apart from being the first-ever private medical college in Taiwan, the college also became an important cultivator of highly-skilled local physicians.
Kaohsiung Medical College was a center of both medical care and the study of local tropical medicine in the early days. The college set aside its tropical disease research mission after the World Health Organization announced that Taiwan was no longer a tropical disease endemic area, and turned its full attention to the steadily evolving areas of basic medical science and clinical medical research. The college has also continued to strengthen its medical services. Kaohsiung Medical College thus laid a solid foundation as southern Taiwan's leading institution of medical learning.
After Kaohsiung Medical College became a university in the summer of 1999, it seized this opportunity to go even further and attain to the highest standards. The shared vision of everyone at Kaohsiung Medical University is to make the university a modern, forward-looking institution striving for excellence in both academics and medical care.
Because of the virtually limitless future promise of biotechnology, Kaohsiung Medical University has established a Genomics Research Center, making a dedicated effort to promote biotech research. In addition, university president Gwo-Jaw Wang has also served as chairman of the Southern Taiwan Science-Based Industrial Park Industry-Academic Association's Biotechnology Promotion Committee, in which capacity he fostered balance and interaction between academic R&D and commercial development.
Kaohsiung Medical University celebrates its first half-century in 2004. Turning to the future, the university will continue to build on its sturdy foundation, combine the best of old and new, improve its competitiveness, and accelerate its drive to maintain and enhance its reputation and international standing as a first-rate medical university. The university hopes to set a fine example of sustainable development for Taiwan's other schools of medicine.
A stronghold of the liberal arts
Kaohsiung Medical University is geared towards the training of outstanding medical and nursing specialists, and places equal emphasis on the sciences and the liberal arts. The goal of our school's general education program is to inculcate medical ethics, artistic achievement, social concern, global perspectives, and a lifelong thirst for knowledge. Our objective is education for the whole person.
Apart from the training of professional skills we provide for our students, Kaohsiung Medical University also offers a wide array of courses in the humanities and social sciences. For instance, elective liberal arts courses include Poetry Appreciation, Contemporary Literature, Taiwanese Literature, Selected Readings in British/American Literature, the History of Taiwan, the History of World Civilization, Philosophy and Life, Biological Ethics, Musical Appreciation, Art Appreciation, and Dance Appreciation. A series of concerts and lectures on the liberal arts has also been provided. These activities strengthen our liberal arts education and encourage students to participate in cultural, artistic, and musical events. Students have also been inspired to absorb new knowledge and enrich their inner lives. We hope that these lectures and concerts will infuse our campus with a rational and artistic atmosphere, making us a center for the liberal arts.
To fulfill our social responsibilities, we have cooperated with Taiwan News to create the KMU New Century Speech column. Not only will school staff members be able to contribute their ideas, they will also be informed of events as well. Bringing the Vienna Children's Choir Concert and Cho-Liang Lin to KMU was an inspiring way to provide funding to help children with cancer. Not only did these musicians bring pleasure into the children's lives, they also filled the campus with their beautiful melodies and youthful voices. March is now the Campus Literature and Art Festivity month.
To promote the students' humanitarian concerns, we have invited former president Teng-Hui Li, Former minister council for cultural affairs Yu-Hsiu Chen, celebrity Ding-Shinn Chen and Kun-Yen Huang to speak at the KMU Tsungming Tu Lecture and the KMU New Century Lecture. To cultivate students' artistry, a new gallery has been opened in the newest building on our campus. It has exhibited alumnus Su-Fong Chao's paintings and sculptures, with plans for even more such exhibitions in the future. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of KMU, the Cloud Gate Dance Troupe start up Campus Residency Projects to enhance students' understanding of the art of dance. |
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