The Dankook University Foundation, led by Chairman Hosung Chang, convened its Board of Directors meeting on July 21st and appointed professor Soon-Cheol An from the Department of Political Science and International Affairs as the nineteenth President of Dankook University.
President An graduated from Dankook University’s Department of Political Science and International Affairs and received his PhD from the University of Missouri before returning in 1997 to teach at his alma mater.
Since then, he has served as head of the Office of Planning, head of the Secretarial Team, Dean of the College of Social Sciences, Dean of the Graduate School, and Executive Vice President of External Affairs. In these roles, he made extensive gains across various fields for the growth of the university. He also contributed to the advancement of the Korean Political Science Association as its Vice Chair. His term as DKU President will be for four years, beginning on August 26, 2023.
The University President Nomination Committee consisting of 13 members, including professors (honorary and incumbent), students, faculty, alumni, and social leaders, opened nominations for the university’s president on the DKU website last March. After reviewing candidates’ educational philosophies, vision, and commitment to overall university management, professor An was named President.
The University Board introduced indirect elections for appointing the university president beginning with the 18th president in order to discover new leadership who can build on the university’s founding principles and also drive change for the future. Indirect elections were adopted to support democracy in university operations and make the electoral process more transparent.
The newly appointed President, Soon-Cheol An, summarized the history of Dankook University by dividing it into different stages of innovation. He referred to the first stage as version 1.0 when it became the first 4-year private college in Korea after liberation from Japanese colonial rule, followed by its upgrade to university status as 2.0. Then the opening of the Cheonan campus as 3.0 and the relocation to the Jukjeon campus as 4.0. Now, he said, the university is ready for DKU Innovation 5.0 to lead the fourth industrial revolution. Accordingly, he announced his plans to “open the age of Dankook University 5.0 to respond to our changing times” by implementing two key strategies of increasing university finances and enhancing the university’s reputation.
To realize DKU Innovation 5.0, the incoming President stressed his plans to strengthen the university’s reputation and competitiveness by increasing the university’s finances by attracting more government research grants and university development funds, investing in technology commercialization and technology holding company subsidiaries, and establishing school-based enterprises. Moreover, An emphasized plans to sharpen the university’s competitive edge by building a sustainable research platform for global studies.
Based on the university’s mid-to-long-term development strategy of Dynamic Dankook 2027, incoming president An shared his vision to implement the two key strategies while pursuing initiatives for future growth across the seven key areas of education, research, students, industry-academia partnerships, globalization, administration, and finance. Twenty-four specific initiatives were set forth under these areas to achieve DKU Innovation 5.0. In education, initiatives will be implemented for an innovative education infrastructure and securing top-notch educational competitiveness. In research, plans will be implemented to build a sustainable research platform, advance internationally distinguished research, and improve QS ranking. For students, the university will form a user-centric learning environment and university culture, while for industry-academia partnerships, a glocal ecosystem will be set up to boost entrepreneurial collaborations. Furthermore, the university will establish a university education system that meets the standards of global institutions (globalization), strengthens accountability in administration through system innovation while improving working conditions for faculty members (administration), and secures stable finances along with efficient fund operations (finance).
Upon his appointment, An said, “[I] will strive endlessly to nurture Dankookites to lead in the age of the fourth industrial revolution by building on the university’s history and tradition while deeply connecting with each member of the university.”