Annual Report 2002–03

Meantime faculty and staff were busy preparing for the University's 40th anniversary celebrations, only to be distracted first by controversies over institutional integration, and then by the outbreak of SARS in our teaching hospital. The whole University was thrown into a war-like state. No sooner had we recovered from the battle against SARS than a vigorous fund-raising drive was launched, to reap maximum benefit from the matching grant scheme newly introduced by the University Grants Committee (UGC). At very much the same time, the likelihood of the government's unprecedented fiscal deficit loomed large, and the threat of a steep cut in UGC subvention became real, necessitating a full-scale reassessment of the University's financial viability and deliberations on measures to cope. When finally the year draws to its close on 31st July 2003, many funding issues are still in the air. I am gratified to find, however, that the University is fully confident to tackle any difficulty that may beset the path into its fifth decade, and to continue to 'advance and excel' as its 40th anniversary slogan exhorts its members to do. Administrative Changes The grave challenges posed by the series of unforeseen events couldn't have been managed without the tenacity and dedication of a highly efficient administration. While I am most grateful for the trust and confidence vested in me by the University Council, my thanks go to all my colleagues in the University administration for their hard work and loyal support throughout a most trying year. Apart from the change in vice-chancellorship, there were other new developments in senior management during the year. Prof. Henry N.C. 校長報告 Vice-Chancellor's Review 3