SCU Faculty Commemorate School Reactivation Pioneers

With the approach of this year’s Tomb-Sweeping Day, Soochow University’s administrative heads, faculty, and staff visited the graves of four forerunners to express their gratitude for their dedication to the school’s reactivation in Taiwan. As the Coronavirus outbreak slowly aggravates, the University adopted more subdued measures for memorial activities, including visiting cemeteries with smaller groups and ahead of the usual ritual dates.

On March 17^th, Professor of Department of Social Work Tsung-Chieh Ma, the grandniece of the late President Joseph K. Twanmoh, paid respects on behalf of the family at the graves of President Twanmoh’s mother at Liuzhangli, along with Dean of the Office of General Affairs Joann Chuang and other staff members. Subsequently, Dean of Office of Social Resource, Alumni Service, Career Development, and Art Center Shu-Fang Wang attended their visit one week after to the graves of Dr. Joseph K. Twanmoh and his wife, and the ones of Dr. Ke Sun and his wife, which are both located in Yangming Mountain.

On March 20^th, faculty members led by Vice President Bau-Tscheng Dung, Dean Joann Chuang and its staff members, and Professor of Department of Political Science Chen-Yu Hsieh paid their respect at the graves of Dr. Wang Chung-Hui and his wife, and the ones of Dr. C. Y. Stone (Shih Chao-Yong) and his wife, which are all located at the Soochow’s Waishuanghsi campus.

Back in the years of Soochow’s reactivation with numerous challenges and setbacks, it was these predecessors that had helped the school stand firm and brave the hardships along the way.

Soochow’s late Chairman of the School Board Wang Chung-Hui (terms of office:1952-1958) played an essential role in the reactivation. He was not only a world-renowned figure in law, diplomacy and politics in recent Chinese history but also an important known for his contributions in the history of the country’s constitutional period, according to SCU Vice President Bau-Tscheng Dung. Relocating in Taiwan and serving in the honorable position as President of the Judicial Yuan, Wang had strived to reactivate Soochow as the only institute providing education in common law. Without his dedication, law education in SCU may not have acquired its reputation today.

The late former President Shih Chao-Yong (terms of office:1957-1968) devoted his whole life to education. During his terms, he had arranged for the construction of Waishuanghsi Campus and strengthened the organization and academic disciplines of the school. Moreover, it was his endeavor that SCU went from a college with only three departments to a complete university with three schools and eight departments, said Professor Chen-Yu Hsieh. In commemoration, the building of the College of Science, erected in 1973, was named after Dr. Shih.

During the years when Dr. Ke Sun was the Chairman of the School Board (terms of office:1967-1973), he contributed to the construction of a number of main academic buildings, including Sun Memorial Hall, Faculty and Staff Residence Complex, Office of Department of Psychology, Wen Hua Building, and Guei Memorial Building. Sun Memorial Hall was named after Dr. Sun in honor of his devotion.

Dr. Joseph K. Twanmoh (terms of office:1954-1987) was among the most supportive advocates for the building-up of Soochow. He had served as a board member, Managing Director, and Chairman of the School Board, as well as executive committee of reactivation and President of SCU, with a long-term commitment for 33 years. What’s more, his generosity in donation had a significant influence on the development of SCU, ranging widely from money, books, to a private house. To remember his kindness, Building No. 2 in Downtown Campus was given the name “Twanmoh Memorial Building.”