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  Inauguration of KAU’s Fifth President |
 
 
Inauguration of KAU’s Fifth President
 
Chairman Cho Yang Ho, Board Chairman Kim Jong Sun, Members of the Board of Trustees,
Former Presidents, Alumni President Kim Jong Kwan, all KAU family members, and
Honored Guests:
 
It is my great honor to be here today as the 5th President of KAU. Thank you for entrusting me
with the privilege and responsibility of leading KAU.
 
Recognizing the contributions of all the leaders of the University in the past, the current and
future needs and opportunities for the University, the expectations of students, faculty, alumni,
the Board of the Foundation, and people of the nation, I accept the honor of being President by
the appointment in humble spirit and will fully dedicate myself to the mission of the University.
 
KAU is a university, specialized in education and research in the aviation, aerospace, and
related areas. We cannot talk about aviation and aerospace without thoughts about global and
future technology because aviation and aerospace are intertwined with global and future
technology. In 1952, during the Korean War, KAU was founded by great visionary leaders who
believed in our nation’s big and brilliant future. In 1979, KAU became a private university under
the leadership of past Chairman Cho, Joong Hoon who is a giant and well-respected leader in
international aviation industry.
 
First, let’s take a look at the University’s records and facts. In 1955, 46 students graduated,
196 in 1979, and 872 in 2005, about 4 times more than in 1979. During the past 54 years,
about 14,000 students have graduated. More than 560 KAU graduates currently operate
domestic and foreign commercial and military airplanes. Every year, about 20 KAU graduates
become air traffic controllers. There are many distinguished Professors all over the country who
graduated from KAU, such as KAIST, Yonsei university, Inha university, Pusan university, and
Choongbuk university. KAU has also produced many leaders in Korea. Some of these leaders
include Han Hwa Gaab, Chairman of the Democratic Party (Minju-dang), Kim Kyung Jin, President
of EMC Korea, Yi Kwang Sa, Vice President of KAL, Yoon Jong Rok, Vice President of KT, Song Jin
Kyu, Vice President of SK Telecomm, and Kim Jung Sik, Choong-Nam Province’s Chief of Police.
 
Without a doubt, KAU has been growing and has contributed to the nation’s advancement.
 
At the same time, we have to admit that KAU has had some difficult times. I would consider
these as growing pains. For 27 years as a national university and another 27 years as a private
university, whatever has happened during the past 54 years is the foundation of our future.
 
Having said that, let’s look at the future of the world.
1. More and different sets of problems and technology evolution. For example, there will
  be no oil after 50 years. What kind of technology do we need to fly the airplane then?
2. Higher competition. Only those who are innovative and aggressive will survive.
  Do we want to be a winner or loser?
3. More and more internationalization and globalization. We need to position ourselves to
  educate and train our students to enter the world’s workforce, attracting the world to
  come to us – not only international employers but also international students.
4. More advanced technology tools, facilities, and infrastructure. We need to make them
  available for not only training our students but also performing advanced research
  about future technology.
It is a time to develop a concrete but practical plan and implement it for our next 27 years, into
the 21st Century and beyond. As Henry Kissinger said “The task of the leader is to get his people
from where they are to where they have not been.” To begin the next era of KAU, I will devote
myself to lead the effort toward our ultimate goal: KAU becomes not only the world-class but
also the most unique comprehensive university in aviation and aerospace.
 
Before laying out our grand plan for the future, I would like to declare the following five
university core values for all KAU family members, as individuals, as a group, and as a university,
to keep in mind while engaged in KAU business: Accountability, Respect, Integrity, Safety, and
Engagement,
in short, ARISE.
 
Accountability
We will accept responsibility and meet high standards as students, faculty, staff, or
administrators. We will learn from our mistakes and use them as opportunities for growth.

Respect
We will recognize and appreciate differences among ourselves and we will value the unique
strengths of each individual, which will contribute to the University’s advancement. We will
support each other to excel personally and professionally, fostering a strong positive energy on
campus.
 
Integrity
We will work as a team for the good of the whole. We will promote an environment of
openness, honesty, and fairness, while holding ourselves and each other to the highest
standards of professionaland ethical conduct.
 
Safety
The mental and physical safety of students, faculty, and staff are not negotiable. We will have
zero tolerance with respect to safety. We will provide a safe and caring environment for all
members of our university community.
 
Engagement
We will value engagement within and outside our campus, reaching academic institutions,
businesses, and communities throughout the nation and the world. While the student-faculty
relationship is central to the University, we need to create an environment for intellectually
stimulating each other by engagement.
 
With these core values in mind, I will focus on the following three objectives:
 
1. Safe & Vibrant Society: Making our University a more spirited, positive, respectful, safe, and
productive learning and working environment. To make this happen, I will start with a
“Transformational Campus Enhancement Initiative.” We already have a plan in place, with
input from many KAU leaders. We will experience some inconvenience in the following years
due to various construction and campus groundwork, including a new on-campus housing
complex. These changes will help all KAU family members feel their esteem soar. But it is just
the beginning. We will even plan for future expansion.
 
2. World-Class Leading Institution: Making our University a source of an internationally
competitive workforce and great leaders, especially in aviation/aerospace and related emerging
areas. The nation and the world need competitive and prepared leaders and individuals.
Technology is evolving much faster than one can imagine. New fields are emerging every year.
Knowledge and training in computers, economics, and English have become prerequisites for
almost all professions in this global society.  We need to position ourselves to effectively adapt
to these changes. To make this happen, I will start with an “Assertive Restructuring Initiative
,” which will result in more effective and efficient university operation to increase adaptability to
rapid changes in the nation and the world, including more autonomy and freedom with greater
responsibility in each layer.
 
3. House of Innovation: Making the University a source of innovation to serve as the nation’s
growthengine for future economic development. Remembering our founder’s vision in the midst
of the war, we now have greater responsibility to keep that vision and contribute to the
nation’s future as well as the world’s. From black ashes, massive destruction, and being the
poorest country in the world in 1952when this university was founded, Korea has risen to the
world’s 10th largest economy ($983 billion in 2005) and 7th largest trader. Korea’s GDP per
captia in 2005 ($20,300) is about 10 times larger than of 1979. One may say it is a miracle but
there is no miracle. It has required strong leadership and sacrifice. We cannot simply take this
status for granted. We need to appreciate our leadership, respect the sacrifices made, and
continue our efforts to achieve excellence. The world is rapidly changing andthere are many
uncertainties in our future but we can meet these challenges. We will move KAU forward by
excelling in what we do best as individuals and as a team. To make this happen, I will start with
a “KAU Competitive Initiative,” which will include a merit/honor system for faculty, staff and
students who contribute to innovation in learning, teaching, research, and service. It will also
include a plan to provide more opportunities for research, service, and international experience
for students and their mentors who excel.
 
To help all these happen, we will need more resources than what we have now. We need these
resources not to be the richest but to be the best. We need firm commitments and the
strongest support from all KAU family members: The Jung Seok Foundation has been to play its
essential role; Students and their families to support tuition increases while additional financial
aids are offered; Faculty members to strive for success in winning grants and contracts; Alumni
to continue their generosity; and Leaders of the University to seek financial support from other
public and private sectors and make the best use of the resources. These are not just pleas for
your support--these are critical and vitally important aspects for our University’s future and
future world leaders from our University.
 
I would like to address a few words for our parents. My wife and I are blessed with two
daughters and one son. As a parent myself, I fully understand the challenges of providing for
our children. The financial burden for our children’s education is substantial and continuously
increases even though the cost of a college education in Korea is still less expensive than that
in most of the other developed countries. We, as parents, are willing to sacrifice and invest in
our children’s education as we all want our children to have a quality education, to be successful
in their careers, and to be major contributors to the society. I, as a leader of KAU, will make
every effort to ensure that our parents’ investment in their children at KAU is worthwhile.
 
Personally, I am very grateful to God for my very unique and varied experiences as an educator,
researcher, Government official and S&T diplomat. While my technical background is in
Engineering, my responsibility in my previous position with the U.S. National Science Foundation
encompassed all science and engineering areas, including even Social and Economic Sciences.
The National Science Foundation has supported more than 160 Nobel Prize winners and many
other distinguished researchers, and has influenced not only the U.S. S&T policies but also many
other countries’ policies. My international experience includes not only U.S. and Japan but also
Western European countries.  I promise to maximize the use of my background and experience
in contributing to the brilliant future of KAU.
 
I also promise our KAU family members that I will keep my eyes and ears open to your
constructive and innovative ideas and suggestions. I will strive to support students, faculty, and
staff who excel or want to excel in their work and careers. I want you all to be champions and
leaders in what you do. I am here to serve you for your excellence, to act as a bridge between
our KAU family, the foundation, and the government, and to make the university ARISE to the
top of the nation and the top of the world. I have many strategic imperatives in my plan, which
will be further refined with your input and implemented one by one during my term. We need to
be persistent and patient in implementing the plan for our prosperous future.
 
Let me conclude by quoting Mahatma Gandhi who is internationally admired for his doctrine of
nonviolent protest. He said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live
forever.” I believe we can be humble at the same time that we make our campus into a haven
for learning to produce future leaders for generations to come. We can make this happen and I
know that, together as a team, we can do it!
 

Thank you.