Guizhou University

Guizhou University was founded in 1902 and passed through periods as Guizhou University School, Provincial Guizhou University, National Guizhou College of Agriculture and Engineering and National Guizhou University before adopting the name Guizhou University in October 1950. In November 1951, Chairman Mao Zedong personally wrote its name in calligraphy. In August 1997, it merged with institutions including Guizhou Agricultural College. In August 2004, it merged with Guizhou University of Technology. In December 2004, it became jointly developed by the Ministry of Education and Guizhou Provincial People’s Government. It became a national “211 Project” university in September 2005. In 2012, it was included among 14 universities in the national “Project to Improve the Overall Strength of Universities in Central and Western China.” In April 2016, it was included in the national “One Province, One University” priority support initiative, as Guizhou’s only university included in domestic first-class university development. In September 2017, it became a World-Class Discipline Development university.

The university covers 6117.70 mu. Its library holds over 3.68 million printed documents and over 2.1 million Chinese and foreign-language e-books. Its disciplines span 12 categories: literature, history, philosophy, science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, management, law, education and arts. It has 40 schools, 46549 full-time undergraduates and 7575 full-time postgraduate students. It has 3950 faculty and staff, including 2493 full-time teachers, 445 professors and 853 associate professors. Among its staff, 882 hold doctorates and 1552 master’s degrees.

Its personnel include 2 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; 3 distinguished or chair professors under the Ministry of Education’s Changjiang Scholars Program; 3 leading talents under the national “Ten Thousand Talents Plan”; 1 member of the State Council Academic Degrees Committee’s disciplinary appraisal groups; 1 Young Thousand Talents Plan member; 5 national young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions; 6 New Century Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project selectees; 17 members of Ministry of Education university teaching advisory committees; 12 Ministry of Education New Century Excellent Scientific and Technological Talents; 12 Guizhou core experts; and 46 provincially administered experts. One person was also included in the 2015 and 2016 global Highly Cited Researchers lists.

It has 1 world-class development discipline, 1 national key discipline, 5 national first-class development disciplines, 1 regional first-class development discipline and 23 provincial distinctive key disciplines. It has 9 first-level and 48 second-level doctoral degree authorizations; 45 first-level and 197 second-level master’s degree authorizations; and 13 professional master’s degree authorizations. It has 1 jointly developed national engineering technology research center, 1 state key laboratory cultivation base, 4 joint national-local engineering research centers or engineering laboratories, 1 national New Rural Development Research Institute, 6 Ministry of Education key laboratories or centers, 2 Ministry of Education innovation teams, 8 postdoctoral research stations, 9 provincial collaborative innovation centers, 17 national teaching bases and demonstration sites, 2 national experimental teaching demonstration centers and 5 provincial humanities and social science research bases.

The university serves Guizhou’s economic and social development comprehensively and emphasizes distinctive, strong disciplines. In recent years it has established distinctive schools including Pharmacy, Tourism and Cultural Industries, Brewing and Food Engineering, Big Data and Information Engineering, Tobacco, Medicine, and Tea. New research bodies include the ASEAN Research Institute, Yangming Culture Research Institute, Long March Culture Research Institute, Research Center for Development Capacity in Western China, Institute for Innovation-Driven Development Strategy, Institute for Big Data Industry Development and Applications, and a provincial key laboratory of public big data.

It receives targeted assistance from Zhejiang University and has strategic cooperation agreements with Xi’an Jiaotong University, Sichuan University, Tianjin University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Central South University, Southeast University and Guangxi University. It also promotes higher education development in Guizhou and initiated the provincial “9+1” University Cooperation Alliance. Serving local economic and social development, it has comprehensive cooperation agreements with all 9 cities and prefectures in Guizhou, over 20 county or district governments and over 170 enterprises. It strengthens scientific cooperation with Moutai Group, Wengfu Group, Chinalco’s Guizhou branch and China Tobacco’s Guizhou branch, implementing programs including “Doctoral Expertise for Village Revitalization through Science and Technology,” “Professors and Doctors in Enterprises” and the “Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Science and Technology Commissioners System Project.” It continually deepens university-local government and university-enterprise cooperation, raises its level and supports local development.

The university values international exchanges and cooperative education. It has partnerships with over 140 universities and research institutions in more than 40 countries and regions. It is a Ministry of Education foreign-aid education base, a Chinese Government Scholarship university and a Ministry of Science and Technology international science and technology cooperation base. It has established a Confucius Institute at Presbyterian College in the United States. It also plays an active role in international organizations including IAUP, the International Association of University Presidents, and AUAP, the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific. Since 2008, it has hosted or co-hosted activities across 10 editions of China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.

Looking ahead, the university will uphold its motto, “Cultivate Virtue and the Highest Good, Learn Broadly and Act Diligently,” and place education and talent cultivation at its foundation. Rooted in Guizhou and serving local needs, it aims to build a high-level comprehensive university with regional characteristics and influence at home and abroad, contributing further to Guizhou’s achievement of a moderately prosperous society in all respects alongside the rest of China.