Bulletin Number One 1982

Professor Timothy Yu O n to p Of jou rn a lism , H e had to p rom o te c omm u n ic a tio n . H a v in g set up advertising an d p u b lic relations ， He w e n t a t science in fo rm a tio n . He paid equal attention to teaching and research ， Supervised m an y a dissertation, Worked twelve hours a day, A n d w e n t u p and d o w n w it h o u t cessation. Oh, Professor Yu, a ll this tro u b le Came at your own invitation! Professor Timothy Yu joined the University as Chairman o f the Board o f Studies in Journalism in 1974. On assuming office, he did not try to make a clean break w ith tradition and introduce wanton reforms. Instead, he made improvements and expanded the Department systematically on the solid foundation laid down by his predecessors. First he joined forces w ith his colleagues to fight for the expansion o f the two-year programme in journalism into a four-year programme, so as to admit, like other departments, students in the first year and instil a sense o f identity into them from the very beginning. Two years later, his plans were implemented, and the Department was divided into two sections: the Reporting and Editing Section, designed for the printing media, and the Broadcasting Section, designed for the electronic media. Following the restructuring, the Department was renamed Depart ment o f Journalism and Communication, w ith, as expected, many courses introduced. In 1980, the Department established an Advertising and Public Relations Section, which not only provided highly qualified personnel in communication urgently needed by Hong Kong for its development, but also offered students a wider choice o f careers. Apart from TV equipment, computer appliances, and research funds, Professor Yu succeeded in setting up the Aw Boon Haw Professorship. In 1977, w ith the arrival o f the first Aw Boon Haw Professor, Dr Wilbur Schramm, an authority on communication, the Master's Degree Programme in Communication was successfully launched. Because o f these new academic develop ments, Professor Yu had to share in the supervision o f graduates' dissertations, attend to administrative duties w ithin the Department, modify old programmes and introduce new ones, take care o f his colleagues' opportunities for advanced studies, look after individual students' graduate studies, engage in his own research, and write his own papers. To cope w ith the increased work-load, he had to go to his office at seven o'clock in the morning and stay there until half past seven in the evening. During office hours, he was occupied w ith such day-to-day business as receiving guests and students, attending meetings, liaising w ith the community, and giving lectures. Thus he had to arrive in his office an hour and a half early and leave it two hours late in order to go over reports, documents and letters, draft papers, and reply to letters. Since files o f the Department were all kept in the office, the only way to finish the day's work was to try and find time in the morning and evening. While Professor Yu's home was in Residence One, his office was in the Ch'eng Ming Building o f New Asia College. A t noon he often went home for lunch on foot. Yet going up and down the h ill was no to il for him, for he was just taking his exercise, killing two birds w ith one stone, as it were. Professor Yu is retiring this year. It is said that he has already drawn up plans to start his own business and fu lfil his writing commitments. On saying good-bye to the University, does Professor Yu have any regrets? Perhaps yes. He may regret not having seen his plans for a Film Section and an Information Science Section realized. He may be w istful, too, about the unaccomplished research project on Chinese communication o f the Centre for Communication Studies, which he once concurrently headed as Director. However, we believe that, as a Christian, he must be familiar w ith the following saying from ‘Ecclesiastes' o f the Holy Bible: There is an a p p o in te d tim e f o r everything. A n d there is a time f o r every event u n d e r Heaven. Moreover, television is a close relative o f the cinema, and the Department has already acquired a fairly comprehensive set o f reference books on the art o f filming. Nor w ill it be difficult to set up an Informa tion Science Section once the Department succeeds in recruiting qualified teachers, since computer facilities are already available. Though the research project on Chinese communication designed for the study o f communication behaviour in the light o f traditional Chinese culture has not been carried out, it has already met w ith positive response from both mainland China and Taiwan. After all, projects o f this sort cannot be monopolized by The Chinese University alone. As the saying goes, ‘‘The forefathers plant the trees; their descendants rest under the shade." Once the pioneers have opened up the virgin soil and sown the seeds, irrigation, cultivation and reaping should, as a matter o f course, be left to their successors. Therefore, to Professor Timothy Yu, who has done so much to open up the virgin soil in the field o f journalism and communication, The Chinese University would like to say, "What an arduous task you have performed!" — S .C So o n g 9