Bulletin Number Four 1983

At the invitation of the Editor of the University Bulletin to write something of reminiscent nature on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the University, I could not help living through once again the crucial struggle within myself some twenty years ago as to whether I should accept the challenge of coming to Hong Kong to establish The Chinese University. This has to be personal, and I hope you will forgive me for being so. It may be recalled that in the early nineteen sixties Hong Kong was still generally considered to be an intellectual desert. The challenge to build up a new university - not from scratch, but with three existing colleges, each representing a distinct strain of higher-education development on the Chinese Mainland since the turn of the century - was tremendous. The key question was, ‘Is it possible to organize and operate a university under these circumstances as an organic unity rather than as a collection of discrete parts?' The answer clearly depends on what sort of a university one wants it to be. After long hesitation, I finally yielded and agreed to give the matter a try — for one to three years. The inauguration ceremony took place in 1964，presided by His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong and attended by the community leaders, the diplomatic corps, and the representatives of many major universities abroad. In the formal speech given in Mandarin, I boldly put forward the basic theme of the University in these words: ‘The Chinese University of Hong Kong is not going to be a British university (though Hong Kong is a British Crown Colony), or a Chinese university (though Hong Kong is about 98% Chinese), or an American university (though I come from the United States). It is going to be an international university.' After this basic philosophy was spelled out, the next step was to define the goals for the university to be international. Without setting forth the goals for the faculty, the students and the University Council, the objective could never be achieved. In fact, I was soon asked by the faculty as to what I was driving at. My reply was, 'We all know of the world community of universities, the world community of scholarship, and the world-wide academic standard. We have to be part of all of them if we want to be a university of some standing. The world standard can only be defined in reference to the international recognition accorded by the world academic community. It is all a matter of recognition. The world academic community know you only through the quality of your faculty, your research results, and the performance of your graduates. All these cannot be measured quantitatively. But when you visit abroad and identify yourself as coming from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and if the host institution should say “Fine! I know of your university. Please send us more of your graduates", then you know where you stand.' For an institution to be so recognized, very high standards must be maintained for the appointment and promotion of faculty members and for the training of students. Hence, the University Ordinance requires the 6