Jubilee Banquet – 3000 celebrate!

CUHK held the highlight event of its Golden Jubilee - the 50^th anniversary banquet, in the Grand Hall of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on December 8. Over 3,000 students, staff, alumni and friends of the University joined this grand reunion and gathering to share their joy as members of the big family.

The Hon. CY Leung, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR and Chancellor of CUHK was the guest of honour. Dr. Vincent Cheng, Chairman of the Council; Mr. Leung Ying-wai, Chairman of CUHK 50^th Anniversary Celebration Organizing Committee and Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor, addressed the banquet.

Alumni light up the University Mall

“CUHK 50^th Anniversary Performance: The Magical Mall” was staged at the Beacon on December 7. During the event, the University Mall was decorated in lights and illuminated by special effects. The Beacon was the stage for performances by talented students, teachers, staff and alumni, while the facade of the University Library was a massive screen for video projection, inviting the audience to join a trip down memory lane and revisit noteworthy moments in the past five decades.

Highlight of the evening was the light-up ritual in which each audience member, held up their mobiles high to light up the University Mall.

Prof. Yau Shing-tung to give the 50th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture

CUHK has invited renowned mathematician Prof. Yau Shing-tung to give the upcoming 50th Anniversary Distinguished Lecture. Prof. Yau is the only Chinese scholar to have attained the two highest honours in the mathematics arena – the Fields Medal and the Wolf Prize in Mathematics. While the Fields Medal, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematics, is presented to young scholars aged below 40, the Wolf Prize recognizes lifelong contributions in a discipline. Following the footsteps of his teacher Prof. Chern Shiing-shen, the late giant in geometry, Prof. Yau is the second Chinese to be awarded the Wolf Prize in Mathematics. Prof. Yau will give a lecture entitled “150 Years of Mathematics at Harvard”. Details are as follows: Date: December 23 (Monday) Time: 5:00-6:30pm Venue: LT1, Cheng Yu Tung Building, CUHK

Synopsis:

In the twentieth century, American mathematicians began to make critical advances in a field previously dominated by Europeans. Harvard University’s Mathematics Department was at the centre of these developments. Professor Yau will give a lively and accessible account of the pioneers who trail-blazed a distinctly American tradition of mathematics, the heady mathematical concepts that emerged, and the men and women who shaped them.

“Golden Jubilee University Presidents’ Forum” promotes multicultural exchanges in universities

CUHK hosted the “Golden Jubilee University Presidents’ Forum” from December 6 to 8 on campus. Some 40 leaders of higher learning from 14 countries and regions took part in this key educational event to engage in a high-level dialogue to promote multicultural exchanges in universities. Among the participants included heads from the University of Cambridge, the University of Sydney, ETH Zurich, Peking University and Fudan University. The Forum was officiated by Mr. Edward Cheng, Chairman, University Grants Committee.

During the Forum, university heads exchanged views on three keynote addresses given by world-renowned leaders of seats of learning—‘Global Citizenship: the Role of University Education’ delivered by Dr. Phyllis Wise, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; ‘University Policies and Strategies: China and the World’ delivered by Prof. Zhang Jie, President, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; and ‘Partnerships and Collaborations: Universities, Governments and Community’ delivered by Prof. Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford.

CUHK celebrates University Gallery grand opening

In celebration of its Golden Jubilee, CUHK opened the University Gallery on November 28. Through the display of hundreds of precious photographs, artefacts, and multimedia resources, the Gallery exhibits the history, memorable moments and achievements of CUHK in the past 50 years, mirroring the rapid changes in our home city. The Gallery was built with a generous donation from the T S Kwok Foundation. Dr. Raymond Kwok, the representative of the T S Kwok Foundation, and Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, officiated at the grand opening ceremony. The University Gallery comprises seven zones across two storeys, is located at the main entrance of the University Library. It is vividly designed to show visitors the University's milestones through the decades, its explorations and innovations, the Masters and the distinguished scholars, as well as contributions to the community, to the country and the world by generations of CUHK people. The seven zones of the gallery are:

1. Milestones Through the Decades

2. Modest Beginnings – The First Years

3. Whole-person Education – Ideas and Practice

4. Explorations & Innovations – Outstanding Scholars

5. Bringing Together China and the West – Chinese Studies

6. Roots in China, Eye on the World – Exchange Activities

7. CUHK‧The People

Opening hours of the University Gallery in Dec, 2013 are:
Mon - Sat: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Sun: 1:00 pm - 7:00pm
*Closed on public holidays

All are welcome and admission is free.

Thousands of alumni back to celebrate the Golden Jubilee

CUHK organized its annual Alumni Homecoming on December 7. The theme for this year was “Joyous Celebration of the Golden Jubilee” and thousands of alumni came back to their alma mater to celebrate. In addition to the carnival game booths and children’s program, there was an Alumni Reunion Music Fair, theme tours and talks. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Joseph Sung posed with alumni in group photos during the event and officiated the grand opening of the Caring Alumni EcoCampus Trail and Golden Jubilee Alumni Garden, which signify the close relationship between the alumni and the University.

Honorary Degrees awarded to four distinguished people

CUHK conferred honorary degrees on four distinguished people at its 75^th Congregation on December 6, in recognition of their outstanding contributions in their respective areas of achievement to cultural, educational, scientific research and social advancement.

The honorary graduates were Dr. Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist; Prof. Andrew D. Hamilton, renowned synthetic organic chemist; Prof. Yang Fu-jia, distinguished nuclear physicist and Dr. Katie Yang Leung Yin-fong (alias Fong Yim-fun), famous Cantonese opera performer and philanthropist.

Besides the four honorary degrees, a total of 375 doctoral degrees were also conferred at the Congregation. They include four Doctor of Medicine, 349 Doctor of Philosophy, 13 Doctor of Education, one Doctor of Music and eight Doctor of Nursing.

CUHK and Oxford jointly present 50 masterpieces by renowned painters Gao Jianfu and Lui Shou-kwan

The Art Museum at CUHK joins forces with the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology of the University of Oxford, to present an exhibition on two renowned Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Titled “Two Masters, Two Generations, and One Vision for Modern Chinese Painting: Paintings by Gao Jianfu and Lui Shou-kwan in the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Oxford”, the exhibition features 50 masterpieces of the two painters selected exclusively from the art museums of the two universities, marking their first formal collaboration.

Prof. Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, officiated at the opening ceremony of the exhibition on December 6.

Gao's incorporation of western painting techniques and Lui's appropriation of Abstract Expressionism have represented two approaches by two generations of Chinese ink painters from the early to mid-twentieth century. Born four decades earlier than Lui, Gao Jianfu was a good friend of Lui's father, who was also a competent painter. Gao's stated intention to revolutionize Chinese painting resonated with the younger Lui. Although their styles were radically different, their vision for Chinese painting remained remarkably similar. For the first time, their works are juxtaposed for the public to see.

Inaugural WUN Global China Conference hosted by CUHK

CUHK hosted the “Inaugural WUN Global China Conference on Family Transition, Ageing, and Social Security in China” from December 5 to 6. The Conference focused on the cultural change and economic development in China in three particular areas: family transition, ageing, and social security. Some 60 scholars and students, members as well as non-members of WUN, took part in the event and discussed key issues arising from these topics, such as ageing and employment; intergenerational mobility; inequality in health and social security among the elderly; migration and familial support.

The University was honored to have a number of prominent experts as keynote speakers at the Conference. They included: Dr. Fang Cai, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Prof. Jane Falkingham, director of the ESRC Centre for Population Change at the University of Southampton; Prof. Xiaomei Pei, executive director of the Gerontology Research Centre at Tsinghua University; and Prof. Junsen Zhang, Wei Lun Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at CUHK.

Colloquium on the Arts and Humanities in Civic Society concludes

Over 110 people gathered at Cho Yiu Hall, CUHK on December 8 to hear eminent speakers from the disciplines of Arts, Science, Education and Politics discussing and debating the role of the Arts and Humanities in Civic Society.

The public forum was organised by the Research Centre for Human Values, with support from The Philomathia Foudation, the University of Oxford, the CUHK School of Public Health and the Department of English. It brought together leading Vice Chancellors from around the world, as well as the general public of Hong Kong to assess the city’s relationship with civic well-being and cultural capital.

Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, together with Prof. Simon Haines, Director of the Research Centre for Human Values delivered welcoming remarks at the colloquium.

The first speaker of the colloquium was Prof. Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford and the Mok Hing Yiu Visiting Professor at CUHK. He questioned if science can thrive without a strong civil society.

Then Dr. Christine Loh, Under-Secretary for the Environment, examined the art and science of civic inclusion and engagement.

In the afternoon session, Prof. Sir Drummond Bone, Master of Balliol College, Oxford, gave an inspiring talk on how UK universities are dealing with the hegemony of ‘the market model’ of education.

Bringing the discussion back to Hong Kong, Mr. Michael Lynch, CEO of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, took the audience through the arts development project to date.