Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou
Swasey Hall at Sun Yat-sen University
Swasey Hall in the Sun Yat-sen University campus was originally designed for religious activities of the former Lingnan University community
The bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of Sun Yat-sen University, at the Sun Yat-sen University campus, where the former Lingnan University campus was located
Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU), one of the top-ranking universities located in South China, was founded in 1924 by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, known as the father of modern China. After the communist revolution in Mainland China, the Lingnan University campus remained in Guangzhou, and in 1952 the schools of humanities and sciences of Sun Yat-sen University merged with those of the former Lingnan University. A restructured Sun Yat-sen University was formed and its previous campus in Shipai was moved to Hong Lok Campus, the former campus of Lingnan University. After restructuring, Lingnan University was no longer listed in the catalogue of China’s higher education institutions. Nevertheless, as a once prestigious university in modern China, its Lingnan spirit and traditions, including faculty, were incorporated into Sun Yat-sen University.
In May 1979, the Trustees of Lingnan University in New York, which had suspended its activities in Mainland China and turned its support to some higher institutions in Hong Kong, learned that the SYSU delegation led by President LI Jiaren visited UCLA to discuss international exchange opportunities. On the morning of 12 May 1979, Huang Huanqiu, a vice president of SYSU, and Dr. Henry Frank, a senior trustee of Lingnan University in New York, met each other in Pasadena, California. This historic meeting opened the possibility for a future cooperation between Sun Yat-sen University and the Trustees of Lingnan University, which was renamed as Lingnan Foundation in 1989. Under the joint efforts of Dr. Frank, Professor C. K. Yang, Professor Frederic C. Chang, and Professor Tung Au who had all once taught at old Lingnan University, the connection between the Lingnan Foundation and Hong Lok Campus was resumed in 1980 after a 30-year suspension.
SYSU delegation’s visit to Lingnan Foundation, 1983
Lingnan Foundation’s visit to Sun Yat-sen University, 1986
SYSU President Li Yuesheng’s grant request to Lingnan Foundation for the purpose of adding two grant programs: one for the Library and the other for the School of Foreign Languages, 1990
The cooperation between the Foundation and Sun Yat-sen University led the Alumni Association of Lingnan University in Guangzhou to be located within the SYUS campus, and the SYSU leadership decided to reinstate the names of 11 of the legacy Lingnan buildings. In 1987, as part of this series of efforts, the National Education Commission approved Sun Yat-sen University’s proposal to establish ‘Lingnan (University) College’ within SYSU (this will be discussed in more detail on the next page). During the first two decades of the cooperation, the collaboration between Sun Yat-sen University and the Lingnan Foundation focused on various aspects, including the establishment of the Department of Sociology, the development of the School of Business, and the strengthening of the Department of Chemistry. Apart from providing financial support, a number of trustees of the Foundation, who had taught in the Former Lingnan University, offered suggestions on running relevant departments. The foundation also assisted the University in enhancing the professional competence of personnel in the President’s Office and the External Affairs Office.
After entering the new century, with the internationalization of education and the integration of the world economy, the Lingnan Foundation emphasized the concept of ‘liberal learning’ in its efforts to support Sun Yat-sen University. After the Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, the Foundation made a special grant to subsidize the 276 students from the stricken region, and to support the Mental Health Education and Counseling Center of the University to carry out the Post-Earthquake Mental Health Program. Furthermore, SYSU scholars have been financially supported by the Foundation to study in the United States.
SYSU Associate Professor Xian Jun’s visit to Yale University as part of faculty development program, 2010
Zhao, Huang. "Long-lasting Cooperation for Excellence in Education: The 30th Anniversary of Partnership between Sun Yat-sen University and Lingnan Foundation, 1980-2010" (Guangzhou: Sun Yat-sen University Press, 2014)