Low-profile University

After He Jiang delivered his graduate address at Harvard University on May 26 as its first Chinese graduate school student council representative, he became an overnight celebrity in his native land. The fact that he and his Harvard advisor, Professor Zhuang Xiaowei, shared the university of Science and Technology of China (USTC) as an alma mater also attracted attention. A number of famous Chinese working in the fields of science and technology, education and business graduated from USTC, often dubbed China’s most prominent “low-profile” college. Founded in 1958, USTC was the first university on the Chinese mainland to establish a graduate school, as well as the country’s first class specifically for gifted young people. Over the years, it refused to expand enrollment or its campus at the rapid rate seen in other colleges, or to merge with another university. Education experts say that USTC has played a unique role in pushing Chinese sci-tech innovation and social reform, and that its commitment to quality over scale will be judged favorably by history.