News--Welcome to National Chiayi University

　　The appointment ceremony of top supervisors of National Chiayi University for the first semester in the academic year 2020-2021 took place at the Zuei-Suei Hall on the Lantan campus on the morning of July 28th. A total of three top administrative supervisors and four academic heads took up the new post. There were six newly appointed and retiring teachers. To express thankfulness to the outgoing supervisors and retiring professors for their commitment to the university, President Chyung Ay presented certificates of appreciation to them on behalf of the university in recognition of their dedication to NCYU. During the ceremony, President Ay encouraged his colleagues that serving as an administrative head is like a spiritual pilgrimage. To be an administrative head is a mission, and he/she is expected to serve the group or organization to achieve the ideal goals. He also expressed his heartfelt gratitude for their unswerving devotion to NCYU.

　　The newly appointed administrative supervisors for the first semester in the academic year 2020-2021 included Lin Yun-Wei, Dean of Student Affairs; Huaang-Youh Hurng, Director of the Alumni Center; and Ruyu Hung, Direcotor of the Teacher Education Center. The newly appointed heads of the academic units included Gong Shu-Ping, Chairman of the Department of Foreign Languages; Chong Kai-Wei, Chairman of the Department of Agronomy; Shu Mei Chen, Chairman of the Department of Aquatic Biosciences; and Hsin-I Chang, Chairman of the Department of Biochemical Science and Technology. Retiring teachers included Yaochi Su, Professor of the Department of Veterinary Medicine; Lee Tan-Cha, Professor of the Department of Horticultural Science; Chu Feng-Yuh, Professor of the Department of Chinese Literature; Lu Ming-Yu, Associate Professor of the Department of Animal Science; Lin Ching Chen, Professor of the Department of E-learning Design and Management; and Peng Shu-Hui, Lecturer of the Department of Food Science.

　　During the ceremony, President Ay indicated that it is destiny that they are able to work together. A professor, after being promoted from the rank of associate professor, should shoulder a greater responsibility and see themselves as a mentor rather than a boss to their junior colleagues, so that both the university and the department could make further progress. In addition, it is not an easy task to maintain all the facilities on all the four campuses of NCYU. Renovation of the PU track on the Lantan campus was just complete last year. Renovation of the track and field on the Minghsiung campus has been underway from July to October this year. In the days to come, they hoped to continue to seek funding from the government to renovate the Sinmin campus, so as to provide a better learning environment for all the teachers and students.

　　Last but not least, President Ay invited the outgoing supervisors to make their remarks. According to Prof. Huang Tsai-Wei, who recently left the post as Dean of Student Affairs, the Office of Student Affairs is in charge of almost everything about the students, from managing the dorms to offering assistance to the students in daily life and even when they are faced with critical situations. He was grateful to the President for showing the greatest support whether in terms of budget or space, and also to the heads and staff of various departments for their constant assistance. This summer, the Office of Student Affairs has been carrying out a full renovation of the Dorms V and VI on the Lantan campus. The renovation of the bathrooms in the Dorm V that cost NT$6 million was complete. They will renovate the interiors of the dormitories in the hope to provide a better living environment to the students.

　　According to Vice President Chishih Chu, he has been serving at NCYU for 16 years and as an administrative head for 12 years. He has since last year been acting as Director of the Alumni Center. It has been a journey filled with hardships, yet also joys of making their ideals come true. Last February, led by President Ay, the Alumni Center founded the NCYU Vietnam Alumni Association in Vietnam. They hoped to establish the NCYU Thailand Alumni Association in the days to come. The ultimate goal is to help facilitate collaboration among the alumni at home and abroad in creating brands that step onto the international stage. He also expressed his hope that the local alumni associations and departmental alumni associations could link up and work together. The objective is to contribute to the development of the departments through synergy of the alumni network by enhancing academic-industrial cooperation, and students’ competitiveness in the job market and career management, among others.