Xu Zhihong

October 2013 Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)

Past President, Peking University

Why shouldn’t a university graduate be celebrated for selling pork? That’s the kind of provocative statement characteristic of Dr. Xu Zhihong, former President of Peking University and a leader of China’s post-secondary educational reform.

In a country where students with the top entrance exam scores are featured on national news broadcasts, Dr. Xu stands out as a pragmatist. Test scores and inward-looking academic pursuits interest him less than the passion a student has for a subject and the practical application of academic endeavors. That “pragmatic passion” could be seen as a theme underlying Dr. Xu’s own academic work. A plant biologist, and graduate of Peking University and the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Xu worked as a visiting scientist in John Innes Institute and the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, before returning to the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology to become deputy director and later director. His research interests include plant development, plant cell culture and genetic manipulation, and plant biotechnology. His research has strong, practical applications in a country that must feed more than a billion citizens. He has published over 200 papers, reviews and reports in his field.

In 1999 Dr. Xu was appointed President of Peking University, the oldest university in China, a position he held until 2008. During that time, he established and coordinated the Beijing Forum on Higher Education, which gathers university leaders from around the world to share educational philosophy, ideas and advances. Under his leadership, through these and other initiatives, Peking University strengthened its international connections, helping the institution emerge from the educational challenges of the Cultural Revolution into the modern research and scholarly powerhouse that it is today, as one of the world’s top 50 universities and the top-ranked Chinese university.

Not that Dr. Xu would trumpet that ranking. Among his many provocative statements is his belief that university rankings, like examination marks, are over-emphasized. Instead, he stresses the importance of supporting students in pursuing their academic passions and personal interests, assisting them in developing a caring attitude towards society and nurturing their love for their chosen disciplines.

And that pork seller? He is a former student at Peking University who went on to become a civil servant, although he did not thrive as a bureaucrat. After considering his options and conducting some market research, this economics graduate embarked on a second career in the pork market, carving out success that eluded him in his more prestigious early employment. As Dr. Xu remarked in telling this story to a journalist, according to an old Chinese saying, “there is a number one in every walk of life.” To Dr. Xu, encouraging students to find the walk of life that suits their passions is a university’s most important work.

While Dr. Xu has recently retired from university administration, he continues as a professor at the College of Life Sciences at Peking University and the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology. He remains engaged in discussions around fostering university excellence, both for university institutions and students. In recognition of his leadership and numerous accomplishments, I ask you Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of Senate, to bestow upon Dr. Xu Zhihong the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.