Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks during a conference on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable development at Peking University Stanford Center, Beijing, Nov. 20, 2014. (Photo : Reuters)
Lin Jianhua has been hailed as the 27th president of Peking University. Once a chemist who worked as the president of Zhejiang University since June 2013, he is now taking over Wang En'ge as the president of Peking University.
"The university is a platform for the communication of knowledge and innovation. A good academic environment can inspire creative and innovative ideas, which universities are responsible for," Lin stated when he was inaugurated on Sunday.
Lin, 59, devoted 30 years at PKU before becoming the president, unlike the earlier presidents. He grew up at Shandong Province and entered PKU back in 1978. He earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in chemistry at the university before he started his career as a teacher and researcher in 1986. In 1988, he also went to Germany and the United States for five years to complete his postdoctoral research.
He came back to Peking University to teach as an associate professor in 1993. From 1995 to 2010, he also served various posts, from being a professor, to the dean of the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, as well as the executive vice-president of the university.
He left PKU in 2010 to serve as the president of the Chongqing University. He served as the president of Zhejiang in June of 2013 and held that position until he returned now to be the president of the university.
Lin's leadership at both Chongqing and Zhejiang universities was wrought with controversies. He was accused on spending too much to recruit foreign professors and for being too idealistic. His presidency at Zhejiang University also drew questions from the alumni of the school.
