最新香港大學通訊

昨日收到香港大學畢業生議會通訊，厚厚的一包，正本封面是新上任的校長馬斐森(Peter Mathieson)教授。他是香港大學第15任校長。

今年4月，我們一眾舊生已收到馬校長的就職致全校師生及校友的電郵(＊附本文之末)。


昨日的另外一本，是向卸任校長徐立之教授致敬的特刊，共36頁，彩色精印，圖文並茂。

徐校長是在2002年上任的，其時我已經畢業26年，亦已離開香港；對母校的連繫，就是靠那本議會通訊。他任內的建樹，很多人比我熟悉，我以耳代目，聽說很多學生對他的印象都是好的。

例外的就只有2011年大學百年慶，中國副總理李克強來訪，大學容許警察進駐校園，以粗暴手法佈防，嚴密「保安」，包括禁錮學生 (前文：港大校長關於李克強到訪日的保安的聲明)。

尤其大失體統的是，拍集體照時，讓李克強坐了校監的座椅。

這可算是他卸任前的重大瑕疵；在這本紀念特刊之中，李克強到訪之事，提也沒提，當然也不會有這張照片。

裡面有一章提及，他在任的12年間，外國前來香港大學讀書的留學生增加了九倍！不過你如今在校園走一趟，耳邊聽到的盡是普通話，這些「外國留學生」的來源，不言而喻了(接受資助研究生的比率，更是佔了多數，文章)。

這張照片的安排，頗見心思，圖中有很多真正的「外國學生」。

＊Dear students, staff, alumni and friends,

Working Together to Take HKU Forward

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.

I wish to pay tribute to Professor Lap-Chee Tsui: he has been gracious and professional in handing over the reins of the University to me. I am particularly pleased that he has accepted my invitation to stay on as a senior adviser to the Vice-Chancellor so that I can continue to benefit from his experience and wisdom. I am also delighted that Professors SP Chow and Paul Tam have agreed to extend their tenure as Pro-Vice-Chancellors for University Relations and Research respectively until later in the year so that we will have additional continuity in the senior team. Professor Amy Tsui is unable to extend her term and I would like to take this opportunity to add my thanks to her for her long service to HKU as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning. There will be two new Pro-Vice-Chancellor positions appointed in the near future so that by the end of the year my new senior team should be taking shape. Together with Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost Professor Roland Chin and Executive Vice-President Dr Steven Cannon, we will set about refreshing the University's Strategy and tackling the next stages of our development.

A major priority for the first few months of my tenure will be to learn more about the University from the inside. I will spend time with students, staff and alumni, visiting Faculties, departments and services and aiming to be in listening mode so that I can understand the University's strengths and weaknesses from those that know it best. I will also engage with long-term friends and supporters of the university and with others in the Hong Kong community to ensure that I hear multiple perspectives. Informed by these interactions, I will work with all our stakeholders to seize opportunities, understand and mitigate risks, uphold the University's core values and ensure that the University continues its second century with all the distinction that characterised its first.

This is a time of great opportunity for higher education, and in Europe there is a widely held view that Asia is where the brightest future lies. HKU is ideally placed to take a leading role in maximising the impact of higher education locally and globally. I reiterate the sense of honour and opportunity that I feel as I become the 15th HKU President & Vice-Chancellor and I look forward to working together with everyone else that loves, respects and values HKU to take the University onward and upward.


Peter Mathieson
President and Vice-Chancellor