National Taiwan Normal University

National Taiwan Normal University opened its doors in the early 20th century during Japanese rule in Taiwan. Taiwan's Japanese governors established the school as Taiwan Provincial College. Soon after they gave it the name Taihoku College (Taihoku is "Taipei" in Japanese). The school's purpose was to nurture a native educated class qualified to assist the government in matters of administration. Many buildings on the university's main campus date from the Japanese colonial period, including the Administration Building, the Lecture Hall, Wenhui Hall and Puzi Hall. Japanese architects incorporated features of the Neo-Classical, Gothic and Gothic Revival styles often encountered on European university campuses. A room in the Lecture Hall housed the traditional Japanese document that authorizes and formalizes campus construction.

In the 1940s, the university, along with National Taiwan University, Taiwan Provincial College of Agriculture, and Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering, were the only four higher education institutions in Taiwan.

Some school publications still display 1946 as the institution's founding date in reference to this regime change. A number of Taiwan's leading authors, poets, artists, educators, painters, musicians, linguists, sinologists, philologists, philosophers, and researchers have passed through the university's doors as students and faculty. In 1956 the Mandarin Training Center opened its doors as an extension of the college. The school acquired its present name, National Taiwan Normal University, in 1967. By now the school had established itself as a recognized center of learning in arts, literature and the humanities; its fundamental mission, though, remained the preparation of teachers.

As Taiwanese society made its shift from authoritarian rule to democracy in the 1990s, the university saw its role transformed by passage of the 1994 Teacher Preparation Law. The law gave more schools responsibility for teacher training and set NTNU on its present course as a truly comprehensive university. New departments were created, course offerings and majors were expanded, and new faculty were hired. the merger of NTNU with the University Preparatory School for Overseas Chinese Students in 2006. NTNU is the university in Taiwan with the largest number of foreign students. The university became a hub of international activity, enabling Taiwanese students to travel abroad, attracting international students to Taipei, and building exchange programs with hundreds of sister institutions around the world.

Controversies

Unethical research

Coach Chou Tai-ying (周台英) of the women’s soccer team at NTNU allegedly forced players to provide blood samples for a National Science and Technology Council research project, threatening them with the loss of academic credits or even academic status if they refused. In addition, some of the blood samples were reportedly collected by non-medical staff in a previous research project. As the Ministry of Health and Welfare had previously issued an interpretation permitting such actions, this also prompted the ministry to commit to revising the relevant provisions. The Ministry of Education has recommended a two-year dismissal for the coach and stated it will closely monitor NTNU’s handling of the incident. The university’s student association also condemned the incident and urged the school to protect the rights of student athletes. In response, the university revised the guidelines for conducting research involving student athletes and became the first non-medical university in Taiwan to establish a Human Research Protection Center. The incident also extended to National Taiwan University, National Central University, University of Taipei, and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.