Chung Yuan Christian University was founded in 1955 by a group of educators of religious convictions. At its inception, it had only one two-story building, which today stands to the left of the main gate. The second floor contained dormitory rooms, while on the first floor there were classrooms and an office.

The original name of the school was "Chung Yuan Christian College of Science and Engineering," a name the school kept until it became a fully accredited university in 1980. The original four departments were those of chemistry, physics, chemical engineering and civil engineering.

Despite such a small beginning, the student enrollment increased steadily through the next years. At the same time, the school began to buy land in the near vicinity and soon built more classrooms, an athletic field, and a library. But although land on either side of the main road running through the campus was eventually purchased, there were still thoroughfares that local townspeople used.

The piece-by-piece way in which Chung Yuan accumulated additional land on which to construct new buildings accounts for the irregularity of the shape of the campus, as well as the nature of the close interaction between the town and the school.

From 1955 to the present, the number of departments has grown from four to sixteen departments and eight graduate departments. The number of students has grown from 200 to today's 8,000.

President Chiang Ching-kuo in a recent survey of the ten leading industrial sectors of the ROC economy--including steel, rail, highway, and nuclear power--found that in each of these a substantial proportion of the engineers had received their degrees at Chung Yuan. He commended their hard-working, dedicated spirit and recommended in 1980 that Chung Yuan be given priority consideration in changing its status to that of a university.

The pressures of academic work at Chung Yuan are intense, and it is in the Colleges of Science and Engineering that they are felt the most. Most professors in either college will admit that the entrance examination scores of entering freshmen are lower than those of their counterparts at the state-supported universities. But Chung Yuan's professors expect that students during their four years will receive an education rigorous enough to make them competitive upon graduation with their counterparts.

Consequently, they are anything but lax in their teaching. For example, in the Chemistry Department from freshman year on, there is a test which, on the average, only half of the students achieve passing scores of 60 or above.

Chung Yuan's faculty is young: the majority of the full-time professors are between the ages of 30 and 40. They possess energy and enthusiasm which radiate to the students they teach. Many are alumni and most of them are Christians, which puts them in a position to sympathize and easily understand the problems college students may encounter. They also participate in the University's extracurricular Christian activities such as choir, bible study, and communion.

At Chung Yuan, community service organizations enjoy widespread popularity. This is due in large part to the students' recognition of the privileges they enjoy studying at Chung Yuan, as well as the gratitude they feel for their families' many years of supporting their education. Whether in aiding "mountain people" (an indigenous tribal group of Taiwan), the handicapped or others less fortunate, the students develop and share a warm sense of camaraderie. More importantly, they learn the rule that "the more one gives, the more one receives."

Probably owing to the fact that Chung Yuan lacks a department of humanities, the ratio of male to female students is lopsided by a ratio of 5 to 1. This is no more evident than in student extracurricular activities, which are dominated by sports which boys prefer, such as martial arts.

However, fortunately for the boys, owing to Chung Yuan's proximity to Taipei (45 minutes by motor vehicle), Chung Yuan frequently collaborates with neighboring schools such as Mingchuan College, an all women's business school, Fu Jen, University and Tamkang College in sponsoring outings, camping trips, and folk dances.

In order to further the educational aims of Chung Yuan, the three Colleges of Engineering, Science, and Business stress practical application. The College of Education attaches great importance to on-site learning at factories, while the College of Business states that it places equal importance on theory and application. Even the College of Science, with its strong leaning towards theory, emphasizes the practical application of scientific principles.

The College of Science contains departments of physics, math, psychology and chemistry as well as graduate departments of applied physics and of chemistry. Among the 60-member faculty are 50 full-time professors and assistant professors. Thirty of them have either master's or doctoral degrees. Their qualifications are at least equal to, if not better than, to their teaching counterparts elsewhere. Besides emphasizing a solid background in math, physics, and chemistry, the College on the other hand stresses applied research on the graduate level.

One new department that deserves special attention is the Department of Bio-Medical Engineering, established in 1972 due to the efforts to former president Han, who himself had studied medicine when he was a college student. He saw how in other countries, universities were scrambling to found medical engineering departments and also foresaw the urgent need in the near future for the ROC to do so as well.

Department chairman Huang Ding-nan explains the goals of biomedical engineering as follows: "The objects of our research are the instruments used in hospitals and clinics, from the most precisely designed surgical instruments to injection tubes and even artificial organs. In the past, such apparatus was designed solely by engineers, instead of doctors, to their mutual detriment, as they both lacked the other's back ground."

President Yin Shih-hao summarizes the overall aims of Chung Yuan by stating that those who have received the benefits of a higher education not only must possess technical, specialized knowledge, but also a high degree of civic responsibility.

"Our having received university educations is the direct result of the contributions that others have made --the Christian founders of this school, dedicated teachers, and alumni. As we have received more than others, so we must contribute back proportionally more to society."

For Chung Yuan's older generation of alumni, returning to Chung Yuan for a visit is a revelation--the many changes that have occurred in its physical appearance are a revelation. The plaque on which was engraved "Chung Yuan Christian College of Science and Engineering" that used to hang over the main gate of the school is gone. There are now separate buildings housing mechanical engineering and business. A dormitory for female students did not exist. Many of the building names have changed.

What then, will always be unchanged? The chapel, the clock tower, the surrounding grassy lands, the wind and rain that winter bring-- and of course--the fresh, young faces of the freshman class which each new year brings to Chung Yuan University symbolizing the hope and faith that the school places in its mission of educating the future leaders of the country.

[Picture Caption]

Top: The oldest building on campus is Huai En Lou, Hall of Kindness. Bottom: The reflected images of the Clock Tower, trees, and lawn in the glass doors of Chung Jeng Hall.

The Department of Architecture offers many courses in the fine arts such as paper-cutting (1) and sketching (3). 2. Chung Yuan was founded as a Christian college, and its center of worship is En Hui Tang, or Chapel of Kindness, a religious gathering spot for students and professors. 4. One view of the Chuang Ching Building. The unique style of the Architecture Building, designed by both professors and students of the Department of Architecture. 5. A view of the courtyard. 6. The front of the building.

1. Students in the Department of Soil, Plant, tests. 2. One view of the University Library. 3. Students in the Computer Center use terminals. 4. New instruments used in the Department of Chemistry. 5. Student extra-curricular activities spark wide interest. 6. Three students take time to relax after class.

The high percentage of male students at Chung Yuan University is manifested in the interest in sports. In clockwise order: 1. tennis, 2. ice-skating, 3. soccer, and 4. t'ai ch'uan tao. 5. The recently built girls' dormitory, En Tsu Lou, has complete modern facilities. 6. The front exterior of the new girls' dormitory.

1. Students and faculty meet together informally for tea and to chat in the teachers' dormitory. 2. The tastefully decorated campus coffee-shop. 3. Chung Yuan's President Yi Shih-hao hopes that "the University's students upon graduation will not only have professional skills but also possess a sense of social responsibility."

The reflected images of the Clock Tower, trees, and lawn in the glass doors of Chung Jeng Hall.

The Department of Architecture offers many courses in the fine arts such as paper-cutting （1） and sketching （3）

2. Chung Yuan was founded as a Christian college, and its center of worship is En Hui Tang, or Chapel of Kindness, a religious gathering spot for students and professors.

The Department of Architecture offers many courses in the fine arts such as paper-cutting （1） and sketching （3）

4. One view of the Chuang Ching Building. The unique style of the Architecture Building, designed by both professors and students of the Department of Architecture.

5. A view of the courtyard.

6. The front of the building.

1. Students in the Department of Soil, Plant, tests.

2. One view of the University Library.

3. Students in the Computer Center use terminals.

4. New instruments used in the Department of Chemistry.

5. Student extra-curricular activities spark wide interest.

6. Three students take time to relax after class.

The high percentage of male students at Chung Yuan University is manifested in the interest in sports. In clockwise order: 1. tennis.

The high percentage of male students at Chung Yuan University is manifested in the interest in sports. In clockwise order: 2. ice-skating.

The high percentage of male students at Chung Yuan University is manifested in the interest in sports. In clockwise order: 3. soccer,.

The high percentage of male students at Chung Yuan University is manifested in the interest in sports. In clockwise order:4. t'ai ch'uan tao.

5. The recently built girls' dormitory, En Tsu Lou, has complete modern facilities.

6. The front exterior of the new girls' dormitory.

1. Students and faculty meet together informally for tea and to chat in the teachers' dormitory.

2. The tastefully decorated campus coffee-shop.

3. Chung Yuan's President Yi Shih-hao hopes that "the University's students upon graduation will not only have professional skills but also possess a sense of social responsibility.".