Annual Report 1994-95

Vice-Chancellor's Review 校長報告 5 fair system of governance must be pursued. In the course of the year at the institutional level, the superannuation scheme posed a difficult challenge. W i th the introduction of a n ew government ordinance to monitor the solvency of all pension schemes designed to protect the rights of employees, CUHK's defined benefit scheme became an issue. After years of h i gh inflation i n H o ng Kong, its solvency c ou ld not be assured. Steps need to be taken to remedy this problem, wh i le balancing fairness to staff members, fiscal responsibility to tax payers, and educational responsibility to students. O n the one hand funds for academic developments could not be utilized to make u p shortfalls i n the p e n s i on scheme ； otherwise educational endeavours w o u l d be compromised. O n the other h a nd the government was not able to allocate additional resources for the purpose. The University thus opened a dialogue w i t h the staff for a solution. Their understanding and generosity in not demanding absolutely everything w h i c h was their rightful entitlement, and the tireless effort of the University Council i n de v i s i ng a w o r k a b le replacement scheme, l ed to a l a n dma rk settlement — a n ew de f i ned contribution scheme was put in place w i t h the approval of an o v e r wh e l m i ng majority of 91 per cent of votes cast a nd over 85 per cent of all eligible voters for the change. Even t hough the University h ad to incur a long-term debt because of this, the s o l u t i on generated an unprecedented rise in mu t u al trust b e t we en the staff a nd the administration. The morale of the staff and the institution was boosted at this critical juncture of the University's development. L o o k i n g A h e ad Ha v i ng successfully tackled all these difficult issues, it is gratifying to note at the end of the year that our funding position for the next triennium looks most encouraging. CUHK received the largest share of UGC grants for tertiary institutions i n H o ng Ko ng for the triennium 1995-98. I take this opportunity to thank all staff and friends for their individual a nd c omb i n ed efforts to make CUHK a university that all of us a nd all our a l umni are p r o u d of. The University w i l l ma r ch f o r w a rd w i t h the d e t e rm i n a t i on to accomplish more. For other highlights and achievements during the year please read the rest of the report. Charles K. Kao Vice-Chancellor 31st July 1995