National University of Nakong

National University of Nakong

內江國立大學
Coat of arms
Former name	Nakong Normal and Medical College (1936–1939) University College of Nakong (1939–1952)
Motto	Scientia et industria (Solarian)
Motto in English	Science and industry
Type	Public research university
Established	29 April 1936 (1936-04-29) (as specialized college) 3 August 1939 (1939-08-03) (as university college)
Academic affiliation	Nakong Federation of Universities Nakong Research Group COMDEV Universities
Endowment	$1.01 billion
Chancellor	David Chang Ka-chun
President	James Lee Yat-tak
Vice-Chancellor	James Lee Yat-tak
Provost	R. Michael Milton
Visitor	Diane Lau Yuet-kwong (as President of Nakong)
Academic staff	2,466
Students	33,690 Undergraduates: 25,451 Post-graduates: 8,239
Location	Ningcho , Nakong
Campus	Urban, 117 ha (289 acres)
Language	Nakongese and Estmerish
Colours	Red and   blue
Website	www.nun.nk

National University of Nakong
Simplified script	内江国立大学
Traditional script	內江國立大學
Transcriptions Putonghua Fuhao Nèijiāng guólì dàxué Paisha Morwall noi6 gong1 gwok3 lap6 daai6 hok6

The National University of Nakong (NUN; Shangean: 內江國立大學; Morwall romanization: noi6 gong1 gwok3 lap6 daai6 hok6) is a public research university in Ningcho, Nakong. As the oldest and consistently highest-ranked university in Nakong, it is widely regarded as the nation's premier national university.

The National University of Nakong was first formed by private benefactors in 1936 as the Nakong Normal and Medical College, the first medical and normal school in the Colony of Nakong, in order to combat a chronic shortage of doctors and teachers on the island. In 1939, the school received a charter from the Parliament of Estmere in 1939 to become the University College of Nakong, a post-secondary institution focused on undergraduate education and vocational skills. Under the Nakong Free State, the college was transformed in 1952 into a full-fledged research university and adopted the name of the National University of Nakong. Along with the private Sotirian Farnley University, NUN is one of two schools to attain the status of university prior to the independence of Nakong.

Today, the National University of Nakong boasts 2,466 faculty members and 33,690 enrolled students across 16 schools and faculties, in addition to professional development and continuing studies programs. The university's teaching activities chiefly occur on a 117-hectare urban campus in the Hok Yuen Moon neighbourhood of Ningcho, though a number of professional and medical programs are offered at satellite campuses in other areas of the city. The National University of Nakong's library, which boasts the most extensive collection of works in Nakong, also houses the National Archives of Nakong.

Notable alumni include Prime Minister Andrew Ng, former prime minister James Lee (who now serves as Vice-Chancellor of his alma mater), and Foirbeis Award physics laureate George Cheung Chu-ming. NUN is part of the Nakong Research Group association of major Nakongese research universities, the Nakong Federation of Universities advocacy group, and the COMDEV Universities grouping of major universities within Council for Mutual Development member-states. Graduates of the National University of Nakong form a university constituency in the House of Deputies of Nakong. The incumbent Member of Parliament for the NUN is Barbara Tam Chiu-fun of the Self-Determination Congress.

History

Early history

Group photograph of the graduating physician class of 1938 from the Nakong Normal and Medical College

The predecessor school to the National University of Nakong was founded as the Nakong Normal and Medical College by a group of concerned businessmen and other leading public figures in then then-Colony of Nakong, including Albert Graham Jones, Martin Hanley, and Pierre Leong Wang-fat. Due to the economic situation in post-Great War Estmere, an insufficient number of teachers and doctors emigrated to Nakong, resulting in significant pressure on the education and healthcare systems of the colony. Supported by Governor Irwin Sharland, the group raised 40,000 shillings to purchase a field in north-west Ningcho and build rudimentary facilities for instruction. The school also secured an alliance with the Royal Ricardian Hospital for the latter to become its teaching hospital, an association which remains to this day.

The Nakong Normal and Medical College was formally incorporated on 29 April 1936 and later that year accepted its first intake of 36 medical students and 53 trainee teachers. The school accepted students from all races from the onset, breaking with the segregated nature of many institutions in 1930s Nakong. As the school began to demonstrate its importance to the colony's vitality, Estmerish colonial officials took notice and set out to meet the unmet need for higher education in Nakong as to reduce dependence on the metropole for skilled administrators. On 3 August 1939, the Parliament of Estmere formally promoted the school to a university college and voted the institution a charter, transforming it into the University College of Nakong. This new institution now received funding from the colonial authority, while also beginning to offer undergraduate programs and vocational education opportunities beyond the fields of teaching and medicine.

By the 1940s, the University College of Nakong had become a vital institution in the economic and political life of Nakong, with its nearly 3,000 graduates each year going on to assume important roles in the colonial bureaucracy, business community, and public services. In 1946, the University College of Nakong's status as the island's sole institution of higher learning came to an end, when United Amendist missionaries established the private Sotirian Farnley College adjacent to the University College of Nakong's campus. By 1951, on the eve of the Nakong Free State's establishment, the two university colleges were producing a combined 5,000 graduates each year, greatly reducing the need for skilled professionals from the Euclean metropole.

Present form

With a growing class of university graduates on the island, the lack of post-graduate education opportunities in Nakong became a significant issue by the 1950s, and students who wished to pursue their education past the undergraduate stage were forced to travel to Estmere and enroll in a university there. Following the institution of self-government in Nakong, the new Nakong Free State Legislative Assembly set out to remedy the problem by establishing Nakong's first research university. To this end, then-MLA and future Prime Minister Paul Chak Tin-ngai introduced legislation to establish a National University of Nakong out of the existing University College. The law was enacted on 11 March 1952, and the University College became the National University at the beginning of the September term that year, with the first cohort of 37 doctoral and master's students enrolling.

Coat of arms

Further information: Coat of arms of Nakong

The heraldic achievement of the National University of Nakong comprises a blue helmet, the motto "Scientia et industria" (Solarian for "Science and industry"), and a shield reminiscent of the coat of arms of Nakong. The shield features an escutcheon replicating the national symbol of the red wheel over blue waves and overlays a chief which features three gold martlets. As feetless birds who cannot land, martlets are a traditional symbol of the unending pursuit of knowledge at schools and universities. The motto was selected to honour the past and future of the university, with science representing the institution's evolution into a research university and industry representing its origins as a professional school for the training of teachers and physicians.

The shield and motto were granted by the Estmerish heraldic authority to the University College of Nakong in 1940. The arms were later augmented with the addition of the helmet by the Nakong Free State Legislative Assembly in 1952 when the institution became a full university.

See also

• Farnley University
• Nakong Normal University
• North Bay University
• United Technology University of Nakong