-CBNU President Suh Geo-suk
1. How are you feeling about having your last year as the president of CBNU?
Because of efforts from all the members of CBNU, it was possible that CBNU could get a high reputation as a university. I would like to take this chance to appreciate them all. They endured all the pain from a lot of hard work for the school. Finally it resulted in valuable outcomes. In particular, I cannot forget that CBNU took the first position in the whole nation in a survey of school satisfaction. Looking back at all these reminds me of old memories.
2. It is obvious that CBNU gets a high reputation according to the latest university evaluations. Which factor would you think contributes the most?
It means a lot that CBNU got good results on the university’s representative missions such as research, education, and employment support. CBNU ranked the fifth in Korea for two years in a row for the Leiden Ranking, which shows a high quality of theses. Moreover, CBNU has been selected as one of the universities managing Advancement for College Education Business for three years in a row. Based on these, CBNU ranked the sixth among universities in Korea according to the world university evaluation conducted by The Times and Thomson Reuters in 2010. For these positive outcomes, united members played an important role. Professors’ offices always had their lights on and all personnel tried their best to provide a high quality of service. Every member including the students made today’s CBNU.
3. Text messages from you often come to each student. Tell us more about your communication method with students.
Asserting authority breaks the communication with students. I think an attitude of having the same viewpoint as students is required for a better CBNU, so I try a lot to meet students as much as possible. In particular, I have had official conversations with students about anything related to school twice a year. I also apply suggestions from the conversation to my real policies for CBNU.
4. What was the hardest work while managing the school? And how did you get over it?
Since experts from all different fields are in one place called university, it was hard for me to unite various opinions especially in a national university. Therefore, imposing new systems or policies at CBNU was against many people’s ideas at first. However, I overcame this by visiting some people personally to persuade them as well as going to official meetings. My perpetual attempts for communication led CBNU members to change their minds and to accept new systems for the higher reputation of CBNU.
5. You probably have met a lot of people from various places. What do you expect from CBNU students and today’s university students in Korean society?
The banners saying ‘Challenge, Passion, CBNU!’ are displayed over main buildings on CBNU campus. I made them, wishing students to establish their dreams and challenge them passionately. In this way, I emphasize two things, challenge and passion. Everything in the world depends on your mind. Do not be afraid of failures no matter what you decide to do. Have the passion to challenge again and again. Just like Steve Jobs did.
6. What is your plan for the last year of your term?
Just as I have worked so far with my original intention, my plan for the last year is also for CBNU’s reputation. CBNU should keep trying to be ranked among the top 100 universities in the world, which was my original goal. I am going to improve the condition for research so that we can get the first Nobel Prize winner. I will also support the education more for students’ employment.
From what we’ve seen up until now, it is obvious that President Suh has worked a lot to change and improve CBNU. This interview might remind him of his old memories and might remind us of our future challenges for CBNU.