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The University of Nottingham has paid tribute to its distinguished outgoing Chancellor Professor Yang Fujia, by renaming a landmark building in his honour.
International House on the University’s Jubilee Campus will now be known as the YANG Fujia Building in recognition of the fundamental role Chinese physicist Professor Yang has played in the University’s development over the last 12 years, and particularly in increasing its engagement with China.
Professor Yang was formally installed as The University’s sixth Chancellor in 2001, which was the first time that a Chinese academic has become Chancellor of a UK university. He is a leading advocate of a global approach to education and is renowned as the figure who introduced the concept of a knowledge-based economy to China, making him the natural choice for Nottingham
Enhancing the University’s reputation
A distinguished academician, former President of Fudan University and nuclear physicist, Professor Yang holds visiting professorships at The Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, Rutgers University and the State University of New York in the USA, and at the University of Tokyo. Professor Yang also sits on the board of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
The naming of International House in honour of Professor Yang is fitting as his service to the University was instrumental in deepening its unprecedented engagement with China and enhancing the University’s reputation as a global institution.
Professor Yang said: “I am honoured that the University has decided to name this iconic building after me. The building is in itself is dramatic but it is also the work taking place within it which enhances the University’s reputation as a truly global institution.”
Signature building
One of the signature buildings of the award-winning Jubilee Campus, the YANG Fujia Building opened in 2008. Its striking design is by Ken Shuttleworth of Make Architects, who also created London’s iconic Gherkin. The building is finished in terracotta to echo Nottingham’s traditional red-brick architecture.
The five-storey building provides accommodation for the University’s International Office, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, Centre for English Language Education and the Institute for Work, Health & Organisations (IWHO).
From January 2013, Sir Andrew Witty will become the University’s seventh Chancellor.
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has 40,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘the world’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking 2011.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2011, for its research into global food security.
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