of Technology. The institute formally opened on October 15, 1953. Early development (1954–1966) All the programs and departments at HIT were organized and formed from the programs related to electrical engineering, power engineering, electricity and mechanical engineering in Wuhan University, Hunan University, Guangxi University and South China Institute of Technology. HIT's first classes were held in spaces at those institutions. There were eight undergraduate programs, 314 full-time faculty members and 2,639 undergraduate students at that time. The first president is physicist Qian Zha, Dean of School of Engineering of Wuhan University. The first provost is Gancai Liu. In 1960, HIT was evaluated to be a national key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education of China. Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) In 1971, most of the Wuhan Mechanical Institute () was merged into the institute. Six departments were established. There were 20 undergraduate programs, 1,097 faculty members. The number of undergraduate students reached to 6,087. New mission, global view (1976–1988) Graduate students began to be enrolled in 1978, and in 1984, the institute became one of 22 universities to be approved by the State Council to establish a graduate school. By approval of the State Education Committee, the institute was renamed Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST, 华中理工大学) in 1988. Leading the Reform in Tech-Schools (1988–2000) With China's global strategy and the reform of the economy, HUST led a series of pivotal reforms among technical institutions in China. HUST is the first technical school to establish the Department of Journalism and Communication, the Department of Economics, and Department of Literature, and to host nationwide lectures in humanities. Merger On May 26, 2000, the former Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tongji Medical University, Wuhan Urban Construction Institute (), and Wuhan Science and Technology Vocational College () combined to form the new Huazhong University of Science and Technology (); the Chinese name was changed, but the English name remained the same. Tongji Medical College The history of Tongji Medical College can be traced back to 1907 when Tongji German Medical School was founded by Erich Paulun in Shanghai. The name Tongji suggests cooperating by riding the same boat. In 1927, with the development of the institution, it expanded to include engineering programs. After the establishment of National Tongji University in 1927, the Tongji Medical College was affiliated to the university as one of the schools. In 1950, the medical