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Dear students, staff, alumni and friends,
I am truly honoured and delighted to be joining you today as the
15th President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong
and I am grateful to the University Council for overwhelming support.
I am determined to repay the confidence shown in me by working
tirelessly to build on the legacy of my predecessors and lead the university
to new heights. I am aware that there are some that doubt the wisdom
of the decision to appoint me: I will strive to convince them that I am
worthy of the position. Since my appointment I have been inundated
with hundreds of messages of support and encouragement from staff,
students, alumni and other citizens: their positivity illustrates the
immense warmth that is felt for HKU.
My vision for HKU is to strengthen its place on the world academic
stage, to build on its self-confidence and to ensure that by optimising
the University’s structure and function, together we can achieve our
collective potential. HKU remains undisputedly the leading university
in many fields in Asia and is enormously respected in the wider world.
Illustrative of its global reputation, I have been approached by senior
figures in several top universities in the UK, US and elsewhere seeking
new or expanded links with HKU, and also by major industrial
companies. The global standing that characterises HKU is precious and
must be cherished and developed carefully to extend our impact even
further. Working in partnership with universities in the mainland and
further afield is already central to the work of HKU. I wish to build on
this and explore the opportunities we already have and those that we
can newly create with other world leading institutions: the world wants
to work with us and we must demonstrate the value of them doing so.
Together we can stride confidently into the future and take HKU on
to ever greater contributions to education, research, leadership and public
engagement locally and globally. As with all universities, HKU’s greatest
assets are its staff, students, alumni and friends: all these communities
must be nurtured, supported and encouraged. The finances of the
university must be responsibly stewarded, investments being made
in strategic directions whilst not risking the long-term stability of the
institution; the sanctity of academic freedom must be protected and
the quality of the university’s track record valued and further enhanced.
The central principle must be that excellence in teaching and research
will underpin all aspects of the university’s aspirations.
“Hundreds of
messages of support
and encouragement
from staff,
students, alumni
and other citizens:
their positivity
illustrates the
immense warmth
that is felt
forHKU.”
