Li Shutian, also known as Li Gengyan, was born in Changli, Hebei Province. Dr. Li Shutian studied at the Preparatory school of Peiyang University in 1917, and was accepted by the Civil Engineering Department at Peiyang University in 1919. He received his B. E. with the highest grades in 1923, and was elected as a member of the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society. He earned his Ph. D. at Cornell University, USA，at 1926, with Tsing Hua Overseas Scholarship. In 1927, Dr. Li Shutian returned to China to assume a professorship at Peiyang University. He became the Acting Director of Peiyang University which was reduced to Peiyang Engineering College due to a catastrophic fire in 1929, and the Director of Peiyang University in 1934. During his term of service, Peiyang University followed the Motto of “Seeking Truth from Facts” and the principle of rigorous teaching. Under his leadership, new classroom buildings and new laboratories were constructed, and new departments and disciplines such as Hydraulic Engineering, Electrical Machinery Engineering, and Aeronautical Engineering were established. Advocating the practice of scientific research, Dr. Li led the establishment of the Hydraulic Research Institute and the Engineering Research Institute (both are the first in China) and began to recruit students, initiating postgraduate education in China. His draft of Peiyang University Reconstruction Proposal in 1937 presented a grand design and a thorough and dedicated plan for its restoration. Between 1937 and 1949, Dr. Li led the faculty and students of Peiyang University to the west of China. During the period, he led the establishment of several national colleges and universities such as Northwest Allied University, Northwest Engineering College, Si-kang Institute of Technology, Guizhou Agricultural Engineering College, and Xijing Branch College of Peiyang University in western and southwestern China,. He was also the President of Northwest Allied University and Northwest Engineering College, respectively. In 1946, Dr. Li was appointed the President of Peiyang University when he led the faculty and students of Peiyang back to Tianjin.