April 2007

Psychologist and School of Education and Languages Assistant Professor Dr Susanna Lai gave a talk on ‘Challenges Facing Parents of E-generation Children’ on 28 April to Alumni Link members, which was held to raise money for the OUHK Alumni Scholarship and Bursary Fund.

June 2007

Dr Susie S S Lum, Chief Manager (Nursing) of the Hospital Authority, was appointed by the HKSAR Chief Executive to serve as a member of the OUHK Council for one year, replacing Mr Wong Sau-ching, who had served the University for nearly six years. Dr Alan Au and Dr Cheuk Wai hing, Associate Professors of the Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration and the School of Arts and Social Sciences respectively, were elected as Senate representatives on the Council for two years, after the retirement of Prof. Ho Kin-chung and Dr Yeung Ping-kwong from the body.

August 2007

Prof. Yvonne Fung, Acting Dean of the School of Education and Languages, was promoted to the post of Dean.

Ms Kanny Chou, a 2003 social sciences alumna and psychotherapist, gave an Alumni Link Talk entitled ‘Know Yourself from Dream Analysis’ on 18 August.

September 2007

President Prof. John C Y Leong was named the 2007 W P Blount Award Winner by the Scoliosis Research Society (USA) at a ceremony in a joint meeting with the British Scoliosis Society held in Edinburgh, Scotland on 8 September, for having spearheaded the development of spinal deformity surgery in mainland China, starting in Guangzhou in the early 1980s, and continuing to offer assistance by giving lectures and demonstrating surgical techniques in different parts of the country for the past 20 years. Prof. Leong’s introduction of the use of Harrington rods for posterior scoliosis correction and Dwyer instrumentation for anterior scoliosis correction has led to a new era in the surgical treatment of scoliosis in mainland China.

President Prof. John C Y Leong and ATV Chief Operating Officer Mr Ho Ting-kwan signed an agreement on 18 September to start the broadcasting of a new series of the OUHK’s ‘Open for Learning’ educational TV programmes from 7 October. Six to eight programmes are broadcast from 10 am to 2 pm every Sunday on the ATV World channel.

October 2007

Dr Chan Chin-wing, Assistant Professor in the School of Science and Technology, and Mr Lawrence Choi, a tutor in the School of Arts and Social Sciences, were elected for a two-year term to the OUHK Council once again as representatives of full-time staff and part-time tutors respectively.

November 2007

The OUHK celebrated its 18th birthday on 10 November at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in the presence of over 700 students, alumni, staff, tutors and guests. The Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, GBS, JP, Guest of Honour, emphasized that the OUHK has made a major contribution to the development of lifelong learning in Hong Kong. Twenty-seven full-time staff and 43 part-time tutors who had worked at the University for ten years, and two staff who had just retired, were presented with Long Service Awards.

On the same day, the University awarded honorary fellowships to five long-term supporters. They were Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd Executive Director Mr Thomas Chan Kui-yuen; New World China Enterprises Projects Ltd Managing Director Miss Leonie Ki Man-fung; former Police Commissioner Mr Dick Lee Ming-kwai; Senior Adviser to the University of Hong Kong’s Vice-Chancellor Prof. John Anthony Spinks; and certified public accountant and non-practising barrister Dr Dickson Wong Kai-tat.

Following the setting up of a Convening Group by the University to provide advice and assistance to the Preparatory Committee of the Students’ Union (SUPC), the SUPC re-elected 24 committee members at its meeting on 29 November, six from each of the four constituencies – namely, incumbent SUPC members, distance learning students, full-time students and representatives of student societies. The Committee re-visited the draft constitution which had been prepared earlier so that the interests of both full-time and distance learning students could be accommodated.

December 2007

5,584 graduates received their awards from the OUHK at the two-day 16th Congregation ceremony held on 11 and 12 December at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, increasing the total number of graduates to over 53,000. The 2007 graduates included 554 full-time students and 508 from mainland China. Over 40% of the graduates were awarded undergraduate degrees, while close to 30% received postgraduate awards. Presiding over the five sessions of the Congregation were Council Chairman Dr the Hon Charles Lee, Deputy Chairman Mr Stanley Ko, Treasurer Dr Eddy Fong and member Mrs Eva Cheng.

The OUHK conferred honorary doctorates on five eminent people – writer Mr Li Rui, philanthropist Ms Serena Yang Hsueh-chi, environmental scientist Prof. Qian Yi, film director Mr Wong Kar-wai and historian
Prof. Wang Gungwu – on the afternoon of 12 December.

January 2008

OUHK part-time tutors went to Shek Pik Prison on 19 January to provide study counselling for inmate students. Joining them were representatives from the Rotary Club of Wanchai and staff from the Public Affairs Unit. The Club also sent 40 dictionaries to inmates in April 2008 and has donated more than $230,000 in bursaries over the years to support inmates to continue their studies at the University.

February 2008

Mr Santiago Chuen, former Financial Controller of the Housing Authority, was appointed Head of Finance.

March 2008

At an Alumni Link talk on ‘The Internet: Challenges and Opportunities’ on 16 March, Mr Charles Mok, President of the Internet Society (Hong Kong Chapter), examined issues related to the ever-expanding Internet, such as privacy, legal liability, monitoring and the Internet culture.

Following the election of a new Board at its 2008 Annual General Meeting on 30 March, the OUHK Alumni Association was finally reactivated after being dormant for five years.

Former Police Commissioner Mr Dick Lee Ming-kwai used the story of a policeman to illustrate his points on ‘How to be a Good Police Officer’ in a talk to 360 full-time students of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education on 5 March. Mr Lee had earlier been appointed as an Honorary Adviser to the Institute.