The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences(CUES) has a profound history. It inherits from a series of predecessor institutions of Central China Normal University (CCNU).During its long development and evolution, the name of the collegehas been changed several times as shown in table 1before the current name was usedin 2002.
Tab. 1 Thechronology of the College of Urban & Environmental Sciences
Date | Events |
1924 | The history-geography major was offered by Private Huazhong University, the predecessor of Public Huazong University. |
1951 | The history-geography group was established, with Li Jingkun, Xu Baofen and Li Zikui, etc.as the main geography teachers in Public Huazhong University, the predecessor of CCNU. |
1956 | The Department of Geography was prepared by Wei Zhenru, Xu Baofen, and etc., and 57 students were recruited from Central and Southern China and educated in the Department of Geography in Kaifeng Normal University in Henan Province by contract. |
1958 | The Department of Geography was formally established in CCNU. There were 117 students and 26 faculty members, there into Liang Xijie and Chen Xiaocheng were professors, Xu Baofen, Feng Yunhua, Jing Cairui, Ye Xueqi, and Wang Yumei were lecuteres). |
1986 | The Research Institute of Geographical Sciences was founded relying on the Department of Geography. |
1994 | The Department of Tourism was founded, coexisting with the Department of Geography. |
1996 | The Department of Geography was renamed the Collegeof Tourism. |
2002 | The College of Tourismwas renamed the College of Urban & Environmental Sciences. |
During the 54 years’ development of CUES, professor Liang Xijie（1958-May 1966, 1978-June 1984）, professor Deng Xianrui（June 1984-April 1996）, professor Wang Huichang（April 1996-January 2000） and Zeng Juxin (February 2000 – October 2008) havesuccessively served as the dean, and Wei Zhenru, Yuan Aogu, Zhang Changhua, Li Tushu, Yang Baoliang,CaiJingfang, Xiang Sanjiu, Zenghao and Li Yun were appointed as the secretary of the General Party Branch.They have made great contributions to the development of CUES.
At the beginning period of this institution when there were many difficulties，the faculties together with the students worked hard, having made the improved plotting instrument and universal curve drawing instrument and added a number of the necessary teaching equipment in one year. In particular, a series of teaching materials were written to solve the shortage of textbooks, such as An Introduction to the Earth, Meteorology and Climatology, Geomorphology , Economic Geography of Foreign Countries and so on. Since then this institution has developed stably. Especially since China’s reformingandopening-up policy implemented in 1978 and the resume of the national college entrance exam, the Department of Geography has developed rapidly by expanding the laboratories forsoil, geological specimens, mapping, pollen and the meteorological station, and establishing Geographical Information System Laboratory, Tourism Modeling Laboratory.
Owing to the painstaking efforts and hard work of several generations, nowadays CUES has become one of the most important teaching and research institutes in geography and tourism in China. Now there are 80 faculties and staffs, including16 professors (9 of them are doctoral supervisors) and 20associate professors. Besides, sheemploys seven part-time professors from both domestic and foreign universities, including two academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences. These members have superior academic level and strong abilities in scientific researches, enjoying good fame in the field ofgeography and tourism. A considerable number of them have won various awards for scientific research and teaching..
CUEShosts a number of research centers and units at ministerial and provincial level: Wuhan Branch of China Tourism Academy, Research Institute of Resource-economical and Environment-friendly Society Construction in Wuhan Metropolitan Area, Research Institute of Geography, Tourism Planning and Landscape Design Academy, Sustainable Development Research Center, Land Science Research Centerand Research Center for Urban-rural Development and Planning. In recent five years, CUES has obtained four special laboratory construction projects financed by the Ministry of Finance. With the aids of the projects over RMB￥140 million, CUES has built 16 specialized laboratories, Hubei’s Experiment-teaching Demonstration Center of Geographical Sciences, and experimental centers of physical geography process, human geography process, geographical information system, spatial analysis and mapping, land use and environmental change, tourism management modelling,etc. Furthermore, CUES has set up some fieldwork and internship platforms in Yichang, Wuhan Branch of South Survey and so on.. CUES processes a good library with a large collection of some 20,000 volumes.
CUES has forging many research areas such as human geography,geography education, land management, tourism development and management, regional planning and so on. Currently, CUES offers fiveundergraduate programs respectively in geographicalsciences, tourism management, human geography and urban-rural planning,physical geography and resource-environment, and geographical information system, and ninemaster degree programs respectively in human geography, physicalgeography, cartography and geo-information system, regional development and planning, regional tourism and environment, geography curriculum and teaching methodology, regional economics, tourism management, land resource management. It also provides doctoral program in human geography, geography curriculum and teaching methodology.