Sichuan University (simplified Chinese: 四川大学; traditional Chinese: 四川大學; pinyin: Sìchuān Dàxué, often shortened simply to"川大") is one of the oldest national universities in China. It is ranked No. 8 among the Chinese universities according to the 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Sichuan University is one of the national universities directly under the Ministry of Education (MOE). It is also one of the State 211 Project and 985 Project universities enjoying privileged construction in the Ninth Five-Year Plan period. The president of the university is Professor Xie Heping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Sichuan University (SCU) is the result of a merge of three national universities. In 1994, the original Sichuan University merged with the Chengdu University of Science and Technology (CUST), a national university under the Ministry of Education. The merged university was shortly known by the name of Sichuan Union University. In 2000, Sichuan University merged with West China University of Medical Science (WCUMS), a university under the State Ministry of Health, and became "Sichuan University".