Peking University's new president Wang Enge faces huge challenge
New president of Peking University must work to repair its image after series of controversies
Peking University's new president Wang Enge remained largely unknown outside of small academic circles until his appointment was announced last week.
Wang succeeds the controversial and flamboyant former president Zhou Qifeng, who became president in November 2008 but had been dogged by a number of controversies, including leading a delegation to Chongqing in November to pay tribute to "creative reforms" launched by Bo Xilai , the municipality's disgraced former party secretary.
News of Zhou's departure was initially welcomed on social media sites, but attention has since shifted to the new president - a physicist known for being pragmatic and down to earth.
Wang now faces the challenge of restoring strained ties between the university and the public, contending with campus bureaucracy and leading the university, commonly referred to in China as Beida, in its bid to achieve global recognition as a top institute of higher learning.
In his inauguration speech, Wang said the university should have a dream - in the same way an individual or a country does.
"To build Beida into a world-class university is the dream of all people at the university," he said. "But a school can prosper only through hard work, while empty talk will hinder our development."